Waiting on You
by lawslave
Summary: A journey through the next major milestone after marriage for Eddie and Jamie.
1. Chapter 1 - 6 Weeks

_A/N: A continuation of my little universe and the next big milestone for Jamie and Eddie. This will be a long one..._

6 Weeks - It's Really Happening

Eddie's eyes slid open to find the mid afternoon sun peeking through the drawn curtains of the bedroom. She'd worked a long, miserable tour overnight and felt like she could sleep through the rest of the day. Her stomach was still a little off and she was cursing the cop that introduced the stomach flu to the precinct. A lot of people, including her partner, had gone down with it at some point over the last two weeks. As a result, everyone that was healthy was getting pulled in to work extra tours. There were a couple of days she thought she was next to go down, her stomach alternating between fine and unsettled along with feeling so tired from all of the overtime she was putting in, she knew her body was fighting off the bug. She was too busy working, surrounded by sick cops, to think anything else. And she'd finally lost that battle this morning.

Jamie had already left for work by the time she got home and she'd barely made it through the front door before she'd tossed her cookies. It had left her exhausted. When she had finally made it out of the bathroom, she'd opted to forego all of her usual chores for the comfort of her bed.

Eddie grabbed Jamie's pillow and turned onto her side, hugging it to her body. She took comfort in the faint, but lingering, scent of her husband's cologne and dozed on and off for a while longer until her phone buzzed on the nightstand, signaling a text. She picked up the phone to find a message from Jamie confirming their plans to meet friends for happy hour that night. Her eyes scanned up to the time - 2:30, which meant she could sleep in a little longer - when she caught sight of the date. She put the phone down and had settled in for another snooze in the hopes it would help her feel well enough to keep their plans when a thought ran across her sleepy mind.

And her eyes snapped open in alarm.

She replayed the last month in her head and gasped when one event in particular didn't happen, like it always did...like clock work. Eddie sat up abruptly. With Jamie's pillow forgotten, it fell to ground.

"Oh my god," she whispered in shock. Her mouth hung open and her breathing quickened as to what it could mean, but she wasn't sure she was ready to really think about what it could mean.

Eddie flung the sheets off of her and scurried to the closet where she grabbed the first thing she could find in the way of clothes. She barely ran a hand through her messy blonde hair as she grabbed her purse and jacket and ran out the door to the drugstore around the corner from their apartment.

* * *

Jamie walked into the apartment and found his wife pacing the living room. To say she appeared stressed would be an understatement. She barely acknowledged his arrival as she chewed on a fingernail, lost in the million thoughts currently running through her head.

"Hey," Jamie greeted her. "What happened? I thought we were meeting up at Funkhowser's for happy hour," he asked.

"I think my happy hour days are over for a while," Eddie declared. Clearly distracted by her predicament, she continued pacing and didn't even attempt to make eye contact with her husband.

"What does that mean?" Jamie asked, baffled by the strange comment. He was becoming concerned with her odd demeanor.

Eddie tensed and shook her head, silently motioning over to the coffee table.

Jamie was confused by what Eddie was pointing to. When he stopped in front of the table and realized what was scattered haphazardly across the surface, his eyes widened and he gasped as he looked back up at his wife. "Those what I think they are?" he blurted out in a breathy voice.

Eddie nodded and continued her pacing.

Jamie glanced back down at the table. He could take a pretty good guess as to what all of the little lines on all of the sticks meant, based on Eddie's current near-panicked state, and a nervous laugh burst from his mouth when he looked at her again. Jamie ran both hands through his hair and gripped the back of his neck as he stared at the tests again to make sure they were really there. "Oh, boy," he huffed out.

Eddie caught sight of the look on his face and was perplexed to find that he wasn't clearly alarmed like she was. "What are you smiling about? We only just talked about this, Jamie! We haven't planned this! This is too soon!" she barked. Panic had set in some time ago and his reaction wasn't helping. Why wasn't he panicking right along with her?

Jamie laughed at the expression on her face. "Well, it only takes one good swimmer, babe," he said. With a stunned smile etched upon his face, he walked over to block her pacing.

"That's not funny!" Eddie shouted while pointing a finger at him. Her wide eyes sought some sort of reassurance from her husband. "What're we gonna do?" she asked.

Jamie put his hands on her arms, squeezing them gently as he looked down at her shocked face. "We're gonna have a baby," he told her with some wonder in his voice. "Come here," he instructed and pulled her in for a hug. The smile wouldn't leave his face. "I can't believe this is happening," he said.

Eddie wrapped her arms around his waist. Her eyes started to tear up, not quite believing she could really be pregnant.

"This is amazing, Eddie," he whispered into her ear.

She released a half sob and Jamie pulled back to get a look at her face.

"You want this, right?" he asked. He wondered if she was having doubts about the whole idea despite their discussion.

Eddie sniffled and looked into his eyes. "What? Of course. I mean, we talked about it, right? We both want this, but I just thought it wouldn't be so soon. That it would take longer to happen! And, you know, give me time to really get used to the idea. I wanted to get used to the idea first! It's not supposed to happen this fast!" she ranted. "I've never been around babies, Jamie!" She wanted nothing more than to have a family with Jamie, she just didn't think it would be happening now.

"Well, you'll have nine months to get used to it, 'cause it looks like it's really happening," Jamie told her.

Eddie gave him a teary smile and dropped her forehead against his chest. "Oh my God," she whimpered as another wave of shock washed over her entire body.

"Guess we now know the real reason why you've been feeling so lousy," Jamie commented. He rubbed her back gently and she began to relax against him.

"I can't believe I didn't realize..." she trailed off. She still couldn't believe she'd lost track of time.

Jamie kissed the top of her head. "So what now?" he wondered while continuing to soothe his frazzled wife. He, on the other hand, was ready to burst at the idea of being a father in the very near future.

"I don't know," Eddie mumbled into his sweater. "I guess I have to go to the doctor," she assumed. She looked up at Jamie and pointed a finger at him again, in warning. "But this is just between you and me, Reagan. I mean it! Until we confirm it –"

"What's to confirm?" he interrupted. "You took like half a dozen tests! Wouldn't one have been enough?" he asked as he looked over at all of the positive pregnancy tests on the coffee table.

"There were so many to choose from! And I don't know, what if one was bad or something?" Eddie stammered. She didn't think she'd forget the look on the cashier's face when she'd approached the counter. She must have thought she was a crazy person until she'd dumped the contents of her shopping basket on the counter. The woman had smirked back at her after taking in the items: six different brands and types of pregnancy tests. She had no idea which one would be more accurate, so she bought them all. And a bottle of ginger ale because she knew she was going to need to pee a lot for all of the tests. She'd been ready to run out of the store with her purchase, but could only glare at the cashier when she made her wait for her receipt and a four foot long strip of coupons that had printed out along with it.

"Well, all six can't be wrong," Jamie countered.

"Still, not a word until I go to the doctor," Eddie warned.

"We go to the doctor," he corrected. "Let me know when, and I'll go with you." Jamie thought for a second and asked, "What about work?"

"What about work?" she asked in return.

"Obviously we can't let your CO know before we tell the family. Department gossips will have that news spreading all the way to 1PP before lunch," Jamie pointed out. "And you're on patrol," he added.

"Yeah, I know that, Reagan," she shot back with one raised eyebrow.

"Well…," Jamie trailed off. He didn't want to sound like a macho Neanderthal, but she was carrying his baby. She was a very capable cop, but he still worried about her out there, especially since he wasn't there to be back her up. And now she was pregnant…but Jamie kept his mouth shut. He had his own opinion on the matter, but he needed to let her be the one to decide when she was ready to stop working patrol.

"I don't know, I guess I'll ask the doctor," Eddie replied, oblivious to his true concerns about the job. "At some point, I'm gonna get stuck behind a desk," she groaned. "I'm not looking forward to that. I wasn't meant to work in an office."

"Well, it wouldn't be forever," he stated. But it couldn't come soon enough, Jamie thought.

Eddie nodded, the shock dropping from her face to be replaced with a soft smile. "We're gonna be someone's parents. How scary is that?" she asked in awe of the situation.

Jamie grinned. "Pretty terrifying," he replied. He leaned down and kissed his wife, wrapping his arms around her again.


	2. Chapter 2 - 8 Weeks

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. All of the feedback has been nice to receive. Please keep them coming. :)_

8 Weeks - Let's Give Thanks

"I'm really glad you could join us, Antonija," Frank told his guest. He and Eddie's mother had been chatting in the living room as the rest of the family worked in the other room.

"I was happy to get the invitation, Frank. Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?" Eddie's mother offered as she smiled at the sight of the Reagan family moving about between the dining room and the kitchen with a healthy dose of chatter and laughter as they finished placing the last of the dishes on the table.

"Absolutely not. You're our guest today," Frank said as he placed his hands in his pockets. "And you brought dessert. That's more than enough," he added.

"Well, everything looks and smells amazing," Antonija complimented her hosts. "It was a real treat spending last Thanksgiving with your family. I was looking forward to this all week," she confessed.

"You shouldn't be a stranger. You're family now and I'm sure Eddie's told you about our weekly Sunday dinners. There's always a seat at the table for you," Frank insisted.

Antonija smiled at the open invitation. "That's very kind of you and, yes, she has told me about the famous Reagan Sunday dinners. I will definitely take you up on that offer," she promised.

"Dinner's ready," Erin announced from the doorway.

Frank motioned Antonija ahead of him. Everyone else was already gathered in the dining room except for the boys who came barreling in just as everyone was taking their seats.

Jamie took his customary seat next to his grandfather with his wife and mother-in-law sitting to his left. Nicky and Erin sat at the other end of the table and Danny, Linda and the boys sat across from them. Once they had said grace, Frank looked around the table appreciatively.

"Linda, Pop, this turkey looks amazing. I'll start off by saying that's what I'm grateful this year. That and the last forty-eight family dinners we've been lucky enough to have at this table this year," Frank said with his signature closed-mouth grin.

Linda placed her elbows on the table glanced at the family over her folded hands. "I'm grateful we're all here, healthy and happy and that those two boys over there had fewer trips to the emergency room this year compared to last," she declared.

"You probably just jinxed them, Babe. Now we're gonna have to bubble wrap 'em," Danny groaned. "I'm thankful for something I just realized about this year - I had zero civilian complaints on the job," he added with a smirk.

"Will wonders ever cease?" Erin said in a mock whisper much to Henry and Jamie's amusement.

"I'm thankful that my soccer team made the finals again and that we finally won this year," Jack said.

"And what a game it was, Jack," Frank reminded him.

Jamie reached across the table to fist bump his oldest nephew.

"I'm thankful for a four-day weekend," Sean shared while eyeing the turkey at the other end of the table. He hoped to lead by example and that the rest of the family would be quick in saying thanks so that they could finally eat.

"Always living in the moment, eh, Sean?" Henry chuckled. "I'm thankful for the same thing every year - another year," he stated.

"Amen to that," Linda agreed, thinking back to a Thanksgiving spent in a hospital cafeteria.

When all eyes landed on him, Jamie placed an arm around his wife and glanced at her before he nonchalantly said, "Eddie and I are thankful for the baby we're gonna have next summer."

Every pair of eyes at the table widened in surprise and a stunned silence filled the room during the second it took for the words to sink in. The silence was shattered by a cacophony of noise led by the screeching of Erin, Linda and Nicky's chairs flying backwards as they jumped from their seats in unison and cried out in shock. Erin and Nicky's mouths hung open in disbelief with Erin being the first to tear up. Linda held a hand over her mouth and was making her way around the table while everyone started talking at the same time.

"Say what?" Danny barked out as he stared across the table.

"Seriously, Uncle Jamie?" Nicky shot back a nanosecond after her uncle.

"Shut up!" Erin exclaimed. "Really?" she cried and placed a hand to her chest, her heart beating a mile a minute from the shock.

Eddie and Jamie exchanged a laugh as Frank and Antonija remained seated in a stunned silence.

Henry was laughing and was the first to say, "Congratulations, you two!" He reached out to squeeze Jamie's shoulder affectionately as he blinked away tears.

Frank locked eyes with his youngest, not able to get out of his seat just yet. He barked out a laugh of his own. "Well, I wasn't expecting that," he said with a bright smile. "This is a great surprise!" he exclaimed.

Erin pulled Jamie out of his chair for a hug. "So happy for you two," she choked out.

The happy couple was surrounded and pulled from one hug into another.

"Edit, is this true?" Antonija inquired. She looked at her daughter with wide, misty eyes andbutgs felt like jelly. She wasn't quite sure they were being totally serious.

"Yeah, come July, there'll be another Reagan to add to the dinner table," Eddie confirmed and wiped her eyes quickly before any tears could escape. She looked at the shocked faces around the room and added, "Trust me, we're still wrapping our heads around this, too," she admitted, but couldn't drop the smile off her face.

Antonija finally got up and reached out to hug her daughter. "I cannot believe it. I'm going to be a grandmother," she cried.

Frank reached Jamie and gave him a bear hug of his own, clapping him on the back. "Congratulations, son."

"Thanks, Dad," Jamie replied. It felt like that first day he found out - he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Now he was happy they didn't have to keep it a secret anymore.

"Does that mean I won't be the youngest anymore?" Sean asked, eyebrows arched up into his forehead.

"Nope, there'll be a new baby in town," Danny reconfirmed, throwing a smile his brother's way.

"Yes!" Sean exclaimed.

"Wait, when did you find out?" Linda asked.

Eddie laughed. "A few weeks ago. I took a few home tests-"

"About six of them," Jamie interjected.

Eddie sent a look in her husband's direction. "And they came out positive," she finished.

"Well, I can tell you what I am grateful for both this year and next," Antonija proclaimed as she dabbed her eyes with her napkin.

"Me, too," Nicky agreed.

"Me, three. That's the best news I've heard all year!" Erin claimed. She couldn't believe her baby brother was going to be a father.

"It's been so long since we've had a baby in the family," Linda said fondly.

"Yeah, but we need another girl!" Nicky cried.

Frank picked up his wine glass and held it out towards the middle of the table. "This is a real blessing and worth a toast," he declared.

The rest of the family followed suit, Eddie joining the kids in lifting their water glasses.

Frank looked to Eddie and Jamie and said, "Here's to a happy and healthy year for all of us. July can't come soon enough. Cheers!"

A chorus of 'cheers' and glasses clinking was heard around the room.


	3. Chapter 3 - 9 Weeks

9 Weeks - New Father Worries

"Hey, Sarge! Over here!" Jamie called out to his old partner when he spotted him searching the crowd in the bar.

"Hey, Reagan," Renzulli greeted his old boot and patted him on the back when he reached the stool next to him. "It's been a while. The One-Five and married life keeping you busy?" he asked and signaled the bartender for a beer.

Jamie smiled. "Both are full time jobs," he shot back.

Renzulli snorted. "Don't I know it," he agreed. "How's it going over there? You should have the whole sergeant thing down pat by now." He thanked the bartender for his bottle and knocked it against Jamie's. "Salud," he toasted and took a long pull from the bottle.

"Pretty much. Going on a year and a half over there, so I better be right?" Jamie replied. "Things are pretty good," he added. He lucked out landing where he did. Jamie had been nervous about adjusting to a new house, but the transition had been smooth and he felt as comfortable at his new precinct as he had at the Twelfth.

"Yeah? That long already?" Renzulli inquired while shaking his head. "You know, you were lucky to get promoted right after you were transferred. It's much easier getting guys to work for you when they aren't used to seeing you as their equal. You always have one or two that'll resent having you ordering them around when you had no right to before," he explained.

Jamie leaned on the bar as he turned to face his mentor. "You get that when you were promoted?" he asked.

"I had a few," Renzulli confirmed. "But you learn to handle it the best you can. You have to. Ended up losing a few friends, but if they couldn't respect me in my new position, then maybe they were never really my friends to begin with, ya know?" he said. He shrugged as he thought back to that time and took another swig of his beer.

Jamie put his own bottle down and nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Got some really good guys over there, so I lucked out," he advised.

"Not like the Tweltfth though, right?" Renzulli smirked back at him.

Jamie chuckled. "Never, like the Twelfth, Sarge. That'll always be home," he declared and knew that to be true.

"And don't you forget it," Renzulli told him. He would always miss having this particular Reagan around the precinct. "Oh. So I just heard congrats are in order. Eddie said you two are expecting," he said and clapped Jamie on the back.

Another smile lit up Jamie's face. "Yeah, thanks, Sarge. Next year, in July. Sometimes I still can't believe it's real," he confirmed. "I can't wait."

"That's great, Jamie. I'm happy for the two of you," Renzulli said. He could tell they were both truly happy. "Eddie said she's staying on patrol until her doctor says otherwise," he added.

"Yeah," Jamie sighed and inspected his bottle.

Renzulli's brow creased. "You got a different opinion on the matter?" he asked.

"Nah," Jamie denied and shook his head, taking a drink to avoid his old sergeant's eyes.

Renzulli jabbed an elbow against Jamie's arm. "Come on, Reagan. This is me you're talking to. And you're a terrible liar," he pointed out. "Don't know how you ever thought you'd be a lawyer," he joked.

Jamie shrugged. "Maybe, but I'd prefer to keep it to myself. It's gotta be her decision," he responded.

Renzulli wasn't one to let anyone off the hook so easily. "If it were up to you...," he prompted.

Jamie eyed Renzulli and asked, "Between you and me?"

Renzulli gave Jamie a look. "Of course," he assured him.

Jamie took a deep breath. "If it were up to me, she'd be tucked away behind a desk at the precinct where I wouldn't worry about her or the baby getting hurt by some perp trying to save his own skin," Jamie shared. Then he grimaced again when he realized what a jerk he sounded like. "Saying it out loud makes me glad I kept my opinion to myself on that particular issue. I sound like one of those guys that wants keep their wife at home, pregnant and barefoot," he muttered in self-recrimination.

"Nah, I wouldn't go that far, so don't be so hard on yourself," Renzulli consoled. "You just sound like a soon-to-be dad who wants his wife and kid safe. And I understand where you're coming from, kid," he told him and paused as he considered the situation. "It's a different set of circumstances you're dealing with here. She isn't like most working women who get pregnant. And although we don't get into altercations on the job everyday, it does happen and cops sometimes can get hurt. You're not so crazy to be a little worried," he reasoned.

Jamie was conflicted over the whole situation. "All I know is that Eddie's gonna be the one sacrificing more in the long run to give us the chance at a family, between going on limited duties when she decides to and taking time off after the baby's born. Decisions about her career have to be hers and I just want to support her even though I will most likely worry while she's still walking a beat," he explained.

"That's all you can do," Renzulli told him, but he shook his head and widened his eyes quickly. "Better you than me, Harvard. Not sure how I'd handle things if I were in your shoes. The Mrs. worked at an accountant's office. Most I ever had to worry about was her getting a papercut," he replied.

Jamie smiled. He was glad to get that off his chest and it was a relief to hear someone else say that he wasn't a complete jerk for feeling they way he did. But he would always back Eddie, no matter what.

"Well, regardless of when it happens, Eddie's not looking forward to being cooped up indoors," Jamie disclosed.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Renzulli asked. "Must be a Reagan thing," he said in jest.

Jamie shared a laugh with his old boss. "Yeah, well, she's already imagining getting transferred to the dungeons of the records department. I think she's trying to think of worse case scenarios so she won't be so disappointed about where ever she ends up," he said.

Renzulli huffed out another laugh and wondered if there was anything he could do to keep his only remaining Reagan at the precinct. "Who knows? She might get lucky and it won't be so bad after all," he said.


	4. Chapter 4 - 10 Weeks

_Thank you for all of the reviews, please keep letting me know your thoughts!_

10 Weeks - Only the Beginning

Henry noticed that Eddie had been moving the food around on her plate, picking at the mashed potatoes and vegetables but leaving the roast beef off to the side, practically untouched. "You don't care for the roast today, Eddie?" he inquired.

Eddie looked up at Henry. "What's that?" she asked distractedly.

"You've hardly touched your beef," Henry pointed out and took a bite out of his buttered roll.

Eddie glared at the rare slices of beef on her plate. Her mouth watered, but not for the reasons one would hope before a big family meal. "Oh, ah, not really hungry," she answered.

"Seriously?" Danny asked dubiously.

Jamie was caught off guard by his brother's response and tone and was unable to hold back the snort that erupted from his mouth. He immediately brought his napkin up to his mouth to cover a fake cough when he felt Eddie's eyes burning holes into the side of his head.

Eddie's narrowed eyes went from her husband to her brother-in-law.

Danny twirled the loaded fork in his hand in the air as he explained himself. "Just thought that, you know, you'd be an even more enthusiastic eater now that you're pregnant," he explained before stuffing his mouth with another slice of beef.

Erin placed her wine glass down and glanced at her older brother. "Kinda like you are all of the time, Danny?" she snarked.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Eddie responded sadly.

"Not the case?" Henry asked in return.

"No offense, but just the sight of meat kind of grosses me out now and the smell..." Eddie admitted and pushed her plate away. She didn't think she could tolerate any more of it and was quite close to having to excuse herself from the dinner table.

Linda leaned against the table and glanced at her younger sister-in-law. "Oh, the smells...I don't miss those," she remembered.

"What do you mean?" Nicky asked and looked at her aunts.

"I mean that the NYPD should put my newly heightened sense of smell to some good use and give one of the K-9s a break," Eddie half-joked. "I nearly lost it with the transient I collared on Friday."

"Well who wouldn't?" Henry asked.

"He was a block away," Eddie added.

"Oh," Henry said.

Frank smiled at his end of the table.

Erin knew exactly what she was referring to as well. "What she means is that you become very sensitive to smells when you're pregnant - good or bad," she explained. "And they have a tendency to turn your stomach and make you sick," she added.

Frank wiped his mouth and thought back to Mary's pregnancies. "You know, when your mom was pregnant with all of you kids, I was banned from wearing any cologne in this house," he shared.

Danny peered at his father over his glass. "Sure it was the pregnancies and not her way of trying to tell you something else, Dad?" he joked.

Frank smirked back at his son and continued eating his dinner.

Henry furrowed his brow in concentration. "Can't say I remember that being an issue with Betty," he commented.

"I couldn't ride the subway," Erin paused to shiver at the memories, "or an elevator without gagging. All those bodies cramped tight..." she said.

"I couldn't put gas in my car with Jack and forget about getting near fried food with Sean," Linda shared.

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed to eat a french fry for nine months or Linda would sniff it on me and lock me out of the house," Danny complained as he stuffed some more food into his mouth.

Linda rolled her eyes. "You'd think in a city like New York he'd be able to find something to eat that wasn't deep fried," she commented.

Eddie grimaced and her stomach flipped at the way her brother-in-law continued to attack his meal. She was going to have to reconsider seating arrangements from now on and sit across from Erin or Nicky with Danny at the far end of the table, and preferably on the same side she was sitting on.

Jamie noticed her discomfort. He leaned back in his chair and reached over to put an arm around Eddie's shoulders. All kidding aside, he knew she'd been feeling pretty lousy and he wished there was something he could do to help. On top of the morning sickness, she was constantly fatigued these days. He didn't know how he'd handle feeling that way everyday.

"That's a long time not to eat a french fry," Sean comiserated with a mouthful of food.

"Oh, don't get me started on that. I thought you were supposed to enjoy food when you're pregnant? I can barely stand the sight of it now," Eddie lamented. "It almost all turns my stomach," she bemoaned.

Erin shot her a sympathaetic look. "Unfortunately, that's not until the second trimester," she clarified.

"Yeah. It's been a while since Eddie's enjoyed a regular meal," Jamie said as he moved the food around on his own plate. "She's practically a vegeterian now." He thought about that for a moment and had to hold back a smirk at the irony of that.

Eddie crossed her arms in front of her. "Figures it would be your spawn that would turn me off of good food," she groaned.

Jamie hid a smile with another forkful of food.

"Look at the bright side, you got less than a month to go and then hopefully it'll ease up," Frank said, trying to help his daughter-in-law think positive but realized a month of nausea still sounded pretty bad.

"That sounds like a lifetime," Eddie said dejectedly. "The morning sickness is driving me crazy," she complained as she rubbed her churning stomach.

"Does that really mean you're sick in the morning?" Jack asked.

"That's the general term for it, honey, but you can be sick anytime of day," Linda explained. She passed the bread basket over to Eddie hoping that maybe the bread would help soak up some of the stomach acids. She hoped that Eddie wouldn't be one of those woman with the perpetual morning sickness throughout the whole pregnancy.

Jack pierced a green bean on his plate. "That makes no sense," he responded.

"None of it does," Eddie said as she took a bite out of a dinner roll both envying and disgusted by the enthusiasm with which the Reagans were attacking their dinners.


	5. Chapter 5 - 11 Weeks

11 Weeks - Walk a Mile...

Eddie stepped out of the bedroom and pulled her long, blonde hair up into a loose ponytail at the top of her head. It had been a long week dealing with the usual work related headaches on top of trying to get past the usual morning sickness and ridiculous urges for a nap about three-quarters of the way through every shift, no matter which one she worked. She was glad she'd had a good night's sleep after her swing shift and was even happier it was Saturday. She had the weekend off to relax and maybe take a nap later on should the urge arise, which she suspected it would.

She was on her way to the kitchen, thinking she was home alone with Jamie off on tour, when a groan and a curse from the couch caught her off guard. She approached the back of the couch and found her husband huddled under a thick blanket that covered him from head to toe. The only part of him visible was the top of his head with his hair a spiky mess going every which way.

Eddie placed both hands on the back of the sofa and leaned forward to try and get a peak at him. "Hey, Babe," she called out softly. "What are you doing here? Thought you had a day tour?" she inquired.

"Banged in sick," the muffled, raspy voice responded.

"What's wrong?" she asked and made her way around the couch and perched on the edge of the coffee table.

"My stomach - can't keep anything down," Jamie mumbled from under the blanket.

Eddie grimaced. "I know what that's like," she drawled. And then she chuckled. "Aww...is this that sympathy pregnancy symptom thing I read about?" she asked. "That's sweet, Reagan. But I really don't wanna be battling you to the toilet to see which one of us gets to hurl first," she joked.

"Don't say that word, Eddie," Jamie warned.

Eddie smirked back at the lump. "When did this start?" she asked.

"Yesterday afternoon," Jamie told her.

"Why are you on the couch? You should be in bed," Eddie said.

"Didn't wanna wake you. Or get you sick," Jamie explained.

Eddie smiled sweetly at her husband, not that he could see her. "That's the Boy Scout I know and love, but it's probably too late to worry about preventing germ transmission," she replied as she reached out and ran a hand across the top of his head and brought it back down to feel his forehead. "You're warm," she advised him. "You want me to fix you something? Toast, so you can take something? Always helps me. For a little while at least," she offered.

"No. Just wanna sleep," he stated.

"Okay. Then go back to bed," Eddie instructed.

"Don't want to move right now," Jamie whined back.

Eddie sighed. "Well, then I'm gonna grab some breakfast before my stomach starts flipping. Holler if you need anything?" she said.

"Yeah," he mumbled and remained perfectly still.

Eddie studied the huddled mass on the couch for a moment longer. She felt bad since she could totally relate to his misery. But hopefully this was just a twenty-four hour bug that would pass and he'd be back to normal tomorrow, enjoying another Reagan Family Sunday Dinner with some unappealing meat, as far as she was concerned, as the centerpiece.

Her stomach flipped.

She really shouldn't have thought of that before breakfast.

A short while later, Eddie was sitting on a stool at the breakfast counter reading the news online and munching on a bagel when a groan and a shuffling sound drew her attention from the laptop.

Jamie was making a mad dash for the bathroom. His face was pinched and he appeared to be taking short, painful breaths.

"Hey, what's the..." Eddie stopped mid-sentence and jumped in her seat when the door slammed shut.

Then she cringed when the sound of retching started to make its way back to her, muffled through the closed door but clear enough to let her know what was happening on the other side. Eddie guessed this was what it was like for Jamie when she was running through the place and about to throw up. She forced herself to take another bite of her bagel to hopely fortify her own stomach before she dared to go in and check on him. She wasn't even sure why she wanted to go in there...maybe she did have a maternal gene in her somewhere.

Once she was ready and the apartment had gone quiet again, Eddie stood outside the bathroom. "Jamie? You okay?" she asked gently.

"Yeah," he rasped.

He didn't sound very convincing.

"All right, I'm coming in," Eddie warned. When she got no response, she took a deep breath and opened the door. She stuck her head in first, finding him hunched over the bathroom sink, rinsing out his mouth and using his hand to splash some water onto his face and the back of his neck.

"You don't look so good, Reagan," Eddie stated the obvious. She stepped fully into the bathroom. Her forehead wrinkled as she took in his pale complexion, his harsh breathing and the way he was holding his stomach, unable to stand at full height.

Jamie grabbed a towel to dry his face. "I don't feel so good," he confirmed.

"Should we get you to a doctor?" Eddie asked.

"Just a bug," Jamie mumbled and kept a hand to his stomach as he shuffled towards her. He smiled tightly to try and ease her worry, but it wasn't working. "Rather sleep it off than go sit in a waiting room," he said as he passed by her and headed to their bedroom.

Eddie planned to follow him, but took a detour through the kitchen first. By the time she got back to the bedroom, Jamie had resumed the same position he'd been in on the couch with the sheets and comforter covering him to his chin.

Eddie sat down on the bed next to him and placed a few items on the nightstand, then she put an arm around his back. "How about you try drinking something?" she suggested.

"Don't wanna throw up again," he protested.

Eddie grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand. "Yeah, well, you gotta stay hydrated. Come on, you big baby," she teased gently. "And you need to take something for the fever," she added.

Jamie easily succumbed to her requests in the hopes that he could just go to sleep after.

Once he was settled again, Eddie remained at his side, running her fingers through his short hair as he began to fall into a light doze, but his expression remained pinched, clearly showing his discomfort. When he was out for the count, she returned to the kitchen to clear her plate. Seeing that her own stomach was still behaving itself, she got some things done around the apartment and got herself ready for the rest of the day, not that it would be a very busy one.

Jamie got a little bit of sleep, however, it was not very restful. When he woke up an hour later, he sat on the side of the bed and clutched the edge with his eyes closed. His mouth had begun to water, a sure sign he was going to be making another run to the bathroom, but he was willing his stomach to settle down before giving in completely. He assumed it would get worse before it got better but still hoped he was close to having this stupid bug run its course.

Worse came a minute later on another trip to the bathroom.

Eddie was sorting through some laundry when Jamie made another beeline to the bathroom. "Here we go again," she whispered to herself.

When Eddie heard the retching, she walked over to the bathroom. She pushed the door open halfway, grateful that she was actually having a pretty good day herself. "You sure you don't wanna get checked out?" she asked him.

Jamie remained on the floor in front of the toilet. "No," he replied curtly.

Eddie crossed her arms in front of her and leaned against the door frame. "Stubborn Reagans," she muttered. She watched as he seemed to settle down again. "You ready to go back to bed?" she asked.

But Jamie began to retch again.

"I'll take that as a no," Eddie said while cringing.

Jamie rolled over in bed and found Eddie napping next to him. It was still light out and he looked at the clock on the nightstand, which read four o'clock. He'd slept most of the afternoon and although he didn't have an urge to throw up again, he had no desire to get up. So he turned on his side to spoon his wife and easily fell back to sleep.

When he resurfaced again, it was dark out and he was alone in bed. He could of easily let himself fall back to sleep again, but he'd wasted the whole day away. So he forced himself up and out of bed. His eyes felt puffy and his body heavy, but he'd take that over the stomach cramps and nausea any day.

Jamie walked out of the bedroom and found Eddie sitting on one end of the couch and fully engaged in some movie he didn't recognize. "Hey," he greeted as he made his way around the sofa.

Eddie smiled as Jamie shuffled over to her. "Hey. He lives," she shot back. She was glad to see him up and not because he needed to run to the bathroom.

Jamie sat in the middle of the couch and went horizontal again with his head landing in Eddie's lap.

Eddie looked down at his tired face and placed a hand across his forehead. "You're cool again. How's the stomach?" she asked.

Jamie looked up her. "Better. Just tired," he assured her.

"You should eat something," she instructed as she ran her fingers soothingly through his messy hair.

"I will," he agreed and snaked one arm behind her. "How'd you feel today?" he asked.

Eddie smiled again. She and Jamie seemed to have traded positions for the day. "Good. Like normal almost. But I suspect today's just a fluke. Can't have two people tossing their cookies with only one bathroom," she joked.

One side of Jamie's mouth curved up into a half smile. "Sucks you feel like this everyday," he whispered back.

Eddie's fingers continued to caress his scalp and it was threatening to lull him back to sleep.

"They say it's a sign of a healthy baby, so, can't complain about that, right?" Eddie said.

Jamie gave her a full smile at the thought of their baby. "No, guess you can't," he replied.


	6. Chapter 6 - 12 Weeks

12 Weeks - A First Glimpse

"Hey you two. How have you been?" Dr. Denton greeted as she made her way into the ultrasound room.

"Hey, doc," Jamie greeted back.

"Hey, Dr. D. Fine but tired of puking my guts out. You gotta tell me when it will go away," Eddie begged from where she lay across the exam table with Jamie at her side.

Dr. Denton smiled at her patient. "That usually tapers off around the fourth month," she advised her.

Jamie grimaced and hoped that held true for Eddie.

"Usually?" Eddie asked, narrowing her eyes at her doctor because she sensed there was a 'but' in there somewhere.

She was right.

Dr. Denton punched a few keys on the ultrasound machine. "But, it's one of those symptoms that can stay with some longer into the pregnancy. There's really no way to tell. But it is a sign of a healthy pregnancy," the doctor explained.

Eddie's face fell. "So people keep telling me. This kid's gonna be really healthy," she mumbled.

The doctor looked at the young couple. "So long as you are able to stay hydrated and keep most food down and don't lose any weight, you shouldn't be too concerned about it. You just gotta work to find what helps keep the nausea at bay, unfortunately. I always recommend drinking plenty of fluids and eating every two to three hours - small meals so that you always have something in your stomach," she replied.

Eddie sighed in disappointment.

Dr. Denton grinned at her patient. "Sorry, Eddie. I wish I could come up with a magic, sure-fire cure for that. I'd be a rich woman," she said. "So, we ready to hear and see this little one?" the doctor asked as she lifted Eddie's shirt and tucked a paper sheet into the waistline of her pants and tugged them down a bit.

"Absolutely," Jamie said eagerly. He'd been excited for this appointment all week.

Dr. Denton squirted a warm gel on Eddie's still flat abdomen and looked up at her patient. "So, we'll take a look at the baby, take some measurements to confirm how far along you are and listen to the heartbeat. We won't be able to see the sex just yet, though. That'll be at the next ultrasound appointment," she advised.

"I don't want to know the sex," Eddie declared.

Jamie was surprised. "You don't?" he asked. It never occurred to him that she wouldn't want to know.

Eddie looked up at her husband. "No. I think I want to be surprised, don't you?" she responded with a bright smile.

Jamie wouldn't be able to deny her anything with that smile. "I guess so," he replied.

Dr. Denton reached to turn off the lights and grinned at the look on Jamie's face just as she flipped the switch. "Well, you have a couple months to discuss that issue. Let's get this show on the road," she told them.

Dr. Denton pulled the probe off its cradle and ran it across the Eddie's stomach. The screen came to life with blobs of gray and black as the doctor moved the probe aground. She finally settled on the lower right side of her abdomen and at the center of the screen appeared a black oval area with a grayish-white blob in the middle. "Here we are, just not a good view," she said.

Jamie squinted at the screen. "That's the baby?" he asked. Now it made sense as to why some people said their kids looked liked peanuts in ultrasoumds.

"That's the baby, but we'll try to find you a better view here," she answered. Dr. Denton moved the probe some more until she said, "Here we go. There's the head," she pointed to the screen, "and there's the torso." The doctor hit a button on the machine and it began to hum as it spit out an image.

"Oh, wow," Eddie whispered as she stared at the screen in awe. She couldn't believe that was inside of her. The head looked a little alienish to her, but it was still pretty incredible.

The one blob had separated into two and they could easily make out the shape of a head and a body, just not any limbs from this view.

"You guys see that flicker in the middle of the torso?" the doctor asked as she pointed to a what she was referring to. "That's the heart," she advised them.

"Woah. That's pretty amazing," Jamie whispered and reached for Eddie's hand. Their eyes were glued to the monitor.

Dr. Denton switched modes on the machine and the room was suddenly filled with the echoey heartbeat of their baby. "That's the heartbeat," she told them as the machine recorded the baby's heart rate.

Eddie and Jamie shared a smile. Eddie took a breath and blinked back the moisture in her eyes.

The doctor seemed pleased by what she was seeing and hearing. "Sounds real good. At each of your next appointments, we'll hear the heartbeat with a Doppler. Now, let's try to get some more views for you," she said and switched back to the imaging mode. "Here we go. That's a good profile. See there, that's the head, nose and mouth and those little blobs floating around, those are the hands waving back at you," she pointed out.

"I can't believe that's inside me," Eddie whispered.

Jamie ran his free hand across the top of Eddie's head. "It's pretty amazing, alright," he replied. "I could look at this all day," he added.

The doctor printed another image and took some measurements as the parents continued looking on. "Everything looks good, guys. You're at twelve weeks, two days," Dr. Denton assured them as she tore the printouts off the printer and handed them over to the mother-to-be. She returned the probe to its cradle much to Eddie and Jamie's disappointment and went on to wipe the gel off of Eddie's stomach. "So, we'll see you back here in a month, okay?" The doctor then reached over to turn on the lights.

"Yeah, doc, thanks," Jamie responded while looking at the printouts with his wife.

"Eddie, just keep me posted if the morning sickness becomes a real issue," Dr. Denton instructed.

Eddie smiled back at the physician. "Will do, Dr. D. Thanks," she replied.

"All right, see you two later," the doctor said and left them in the room alone.

Eddie was still staring at the baby when she said, "Now it's really real, you know?" She glanced at Jamie and their eyes met.

Jamie's eyes where wide and a look of pure happiness was plastered on his face. "Yeah, it's real, alright," he confirmed.


	7. Chapter 7 - 13 Weeks

13 Weeks - Change is Coming

Eddie made her way out of the locker room and went in search of her seargent. She was officially on limited duty as of today and would be working at the precinct with Renzulli, helping out in an administrative capacity, wherever she was needed. She'd lucked out that she hadn't been transferred to dispatch or the traffic division processing tickets or even the dungeons of the NYPD records department. She'd still be stuck indoors, but at least she'd be at the Twelfth with people she knew.

She had decided a few days ago that she'd go on limited duty at the start of her second trimester. There wasn't a set rule by the NYPD as to when a pregnant officer had to transition from patrol to limited duties early in a pregnancy - that was up to the officer and her physician. She wasn't showing yet and, up until last week, she'd thought she might be able to stay on patrol past the start of her second trimester, but that was before she and Burton had an incident with a collar they'd made the day after her first ultrasound.

* * *

"Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you?" Eddie asked the struggling woman she was escorting to the back of the patrol car.

"Screw you!" The petite brunette spat in Eddie's face.

Eddie rolled her eyes and pushed her forward. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Stop fighting me or I'm gonna add resisting arrest!" she threatened. She was tired, it was almost the end of tour and this woman was starting to piss her off.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" she argued back and tried shimming her way out of Eddie's grasp.

"You assaulted another woman in front of two police officers!" Eddie countered.

"She started it!" the combative woman snarled and turned to look over her shoulder at the injured woman with Burton and the medics. "She tried screwing my boyfriend!" she yelled in their direction.

"Well, that would piss me off too, but it's still assault, so move it," Eddie ordered and nudged the woman forward.

Eddie had just gotten the woman to the back of the car when the boyfriend in question came rushing down the sidewalk towards them.

The husky blonde man approached the police vehicle with no regard for the officer. "Hey! Let her go!" he yelled.

Eddie looked to her left and realized that he was talking to her. As he neared, she held her hand out. "Sir, I'm gonna need you to stand back!" she ordered.

The man ignored her order and took a few steps closer. "She did nothing wrong! Let her go!" he demanded as he reached forward.

As he went to reach for his girlfriend, Eddie stepped between them and pushed him back. He towered over her, but she wasn't backing down. "Hey! Back off, now!" she ordered again.

Eddie could hear her partner shouting a warning of his own as he made his way to them.

"And I said let her go!" the boyfriend yelled and took another few steps forward.

But Eddie didn't budge from her spot and she was reaching for her baton when the boyfriend grabbed her by the arms and slammed her to the ground. Eddie landed hard on her right side. The air was knocked out of her and she was too stunned by the force of the landing on the pavement to see him coming at her again, but was spared from a second attack when Burton intercepted him with a flying tackle. It wasn't until she caught sight of her partner fighting to get the disgruntled boyfriend onto his stomach that she jumped back into action. Eddie scurried over to them and helped Burton cuff her assailant.

Once they had him under control, Eddie sat back on her honches and placed her hands on her thighs to get her breathing under control. A million thoughts were racing through her mind, all having to do with one thing.

Burton called for back up while he studied his partner. "You okay, Janko?" he asked after he'd reached central. His eyes were wide and full of worry and he stared back at her, waiting for a response.

He knew about the pregnancy and had been accepting of it. And most important to Eddie was that he had not treated her any differently because of it.

Caught between panic for the baby she was carrying and the ridiculous need not to appear weak in front of her partner or anyone else in the department, she went with downplaying the incident. She was also trying convince herself that this had been no big deal, but in the end, it did nothing to ease her own fears.

Later that afternoon, Eddie walked into their apartment and could hear Jamie moving around in the kitchen. She put her things down and took a deep breath to prepare herself for the conversation she was about to have with him. She'd waited to tell him about what had happened earlier in the day, but only because it was something she knew she had to do in person.

She stood at the entrance to the kitchen where she found him in front of the stove getting dinner ready for them.

Jamie looked over his shoulder as he stirred something in a pot and gave her a smile. "Hey, Babe. I was starting to wonder where you were," he said.

She wasn't sure how to start this conversation.

Jamie's brows wrinkled in concern when she didn't answer. He could also see that she appeared to be nervous about something. He reached for a knob on the stove and turned off the gas before he went to her. "Eddie, you okay?" Jamie asked as he placed his hands on her arms and squeezed them gently.

Eddie frowned and nodded. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around hiis neck and his arms automatically went around her waist.

Jamie's stomach clenched at her behavior and a frown appeared on his face as well. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Eddie took comfort from his embrace. "Everything's fine," she tried assuring him and herself.

But Jamie knew something must've happened, so he repeated his question.

Eddie wasn't planning to keep anything from him. She pulled away and looked into his eyes as her hands remained clenched around the bottom edge of his sweatshirt. "I had some trouble with a collar today," she revealed. "But everything's fine."

Eddie could feel Jamie tense up as soon as the words left her mouth.

And he had, because this was what he'd been worried about.

"What happened?" he asked.

She told him about the collar and the boyfriend and about getting thrown to the ground. She had some bruises and told him that she'd checked in with Dr. Denton who didn't think she should have any problems so long as a few things she told her to watch for didn't occur.

Jamie hadn't said a single word in response. He just stood there staring over her shoulder with his jaw clenched And then he took a few steps back and leaned against the back counter.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

Jamie shook his head and looked down to the floor.

"Jamie, come on," Eddie pleaded. She wanted to know what was going through his head.

Jamie grasped the edge of the countertop with both hands, his knuckles going white as he met her eyes. "What am I thinking?" he asked. He figured this was his chance to be honest with her. "I'm thinking that I hate knowing you and the baby can get hurt out there on patrol. But I know that I can't be the one to tell you to request an assignment change," he shared.

Eddie stared back in silence.

When she didn't respond, Jamie knew he just had to let it all out. "I know you're going to be giving up more to give us this family, Eddie, and I don't ever be one of those guys that tells his wife what to do. But I don't want anything to happen to either of you," he said.

Eddie teared up and nodded. "I don't want that either, so I put in a request for limited duties after tour," she told him.

Jamie was relieved to hear her say that. But he knew how hard that was going to be for her. And for her to have done it today, he knew she must have been terrified like he'd been a moment ago.

He stepped forward again and pulled her to him, kissing her forehead when he heard her sigh against his chest.

* * *

So Eddie locked up any negative thoughts she'd had about this new assignment and decided she was going to make the best of it. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

Eddie knocked on Renzulli's door and the seargent looked up from his paperwork. "Hey, Reagan. Come on in. Close the door," he instructed.

"Sure, Sarge," Eddie said while closing the door. She walked over and stood in front of Renzulli's desk.

"You know, it's been over a year since you two tied the knot and I still have to think twice before I call you 'Reagan,'" Renzulli said as he leaned back in his chair.

Eddie smiled. "You're not the only one. Burton quit trying and still calls me 'Janko,'" she replied.

"Well, old habits, you know?" Renzulli studied her for a moment. "You doing okay after the other day?" he asked her. Eddie had already told him she was all right, but he still felt the need to ask again. He recalled his conversation with Jamie from several weeks back and knew it had been his biggest nightmare come true. Renzulli could only imagine how the kid felt when he heard the news.

"Everything's good, but we decided to play it safe, so..." Eddie trailed off. This would be an adjustment, but it was for the best.

"Well, I'll be glad to have you around so long as you're nothing like your husband when he's chained to a desk. Had a real way with customer service, if you catch my drift," Renzulli said.

Eddie laughed softly before answering. Jamie may be the least high strung of the Reagan clan, but he was still a Reagan. They didn't do too well with sitting on the sidelines. "This will be my first time playing house mouse, Sarge. I'll try my best not to piss anyone off, at least for the first month I'm here. Can't make any promises after that. I've been warned pregnancy does weird things to a woman, so I'd like to apologize in advance for any behavior that's unbecoming of an officer," she offered and gave her sergeant a grin.

Renzulli snorted. "Yeah, well, guess I'll take what I can get. I won't kid you, Eddie. It'll be an adjustment being stuck indoors everyday. Hell, I still get a little restless on days I get stuck doing paperwork all day which seems to happen more and more these days while the younger sergeants hit the streets with the new boots. Probably why Jamie hasn't driven them crazy over at the one-five," he pointed out.

"Probably. I'm sure I'll miss being out there, but I got bigger things to consider, right?" She might be bumbed about the transition, but she'd never regret getting pregnant.

"Yeah, a fourth generation cop in the making, if I had to guess. Or a lawyer," Renzulli commented and then shrugged. "Or both if we go by your husband," he added.

"Ha! What are the chances of that?" Eddie asked.

Renzulli chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't put anything past you Reagans," he quipped.


	8. Chapter 8 - 14 Weeks

14 weeks - Words of Advice

Jamie walked through the front door of his father's house, not surprised to find the other Reagan men already gathered in the living room nursing glasses of scotch. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey, Jamie," Frank and Henry responded in unison.

"Hey, kid," Danny said as he threw a hand up in the air at his brother.

Jamie took off his jacket and sat on the couch next to Danny. He didn't hesitate to fill the lone, empty glass that sat next to the bottle on the coffee table.

"Where's Eddie?" Frank asked.

"Home, asleep," Jamie answered just before taking his first sip, after which he settled back onto the couch with a contented sigh. He'd come home after tour to find her nearly passed out on their own sofa. They'd had an early dinner, after which she had gone to bed. He was still wired after a busy day, so he decided to let her be and head to his father's house for a visit.

Henry checked his watch. "At seven thirty pm?" he asked.

Jamie nodded as he balanced his glass against his leg. "That's seems to be her M.O. these days."

"She's incubating a little parasite," Danny replied with a wry grin which turned into chuckle. "Always makes me think of the movie with the alien."

Jamie snorted. "You mean 'Alien'?"

"Smartass," Danny mumbled as he took a drink.

"Can you blame her?" Henry asked.

"Nah, of course not, she's just usually either sleeping or making a run to the bathroom lately."

"Not much you can do about that," Frank stated.

"Except to stay out of her way," Henry advised.

"That eventually went away with Linda, only to be replaced with weird mood swings and a lot of tears," Danny recalled.

Jamie's eyebrows shot up. He'd seen a little crying already over the oddest things...one time he couldn't even figure out what it was about.

Danny, Frank and Henry interpreted his expression as one of confusion, which it was, but they assumed he hadn't been witness to that yet.

"Whatever you do, be supportive, nod your head and keep your mouth shut," Danny advised.

Jamie gave his brother a strange look. "How can you be supportive while keeping your mouth shut?"

Henry and Frank exchanged knowing smiles.

"You can be. Trust me," Danny assured him.

"Worst thing you can do is offer advice about something you know nothing about and will never experience in your lifetime," Frank cautioned.

"Listen to the man, Harvard. He went through four pregnancies," Danny pointed out.

"That makes no sense," Jamie whispered, but what did he know?

Henry looked fondly at his youngest grandchild. "You'll learn," he said.

"And when the cravings start, and they will despite her current repulsion to most food right now, be ready to go out at all hours of the day and night looking for whatever it is she's needing," Danny warned.

"That bad?" Jamie asked skeptically. He hadn't thought about the whole food-craving thing considering the fact that Eddie could barely stand the sight and smell of food on most days.

Frank smiled to himself, amused by his oldest's words of wisdom to his youngest, which Danny was obviously playing up a bit.

"Oh, yeah," Danny nodded as he stared ahead, thinking back to both times Linda was pregnant. He then turned his head and looked Jamie in the eyes. "If she tells you she wants whatever it is she wants, don't question her and don't ask if it can wait, regardless of whether you just came off of an extended midnight tour in the dead of winter and want nothing more than to crawl into your nice, warm bed and pass out."

"Experience, I take it?" Jamie asked.

"Yup," Danny returned with another exaggerated nod.

"I'll try to remember that, I guess," Jamie responded.

"Do that and you'll thank me later," Danny promised him.

They were quiet for a minute until Danny broke the silence.

"And then there's pregnancy brain," Danny commented.

Jamie's head spun around to face his brother. "What's that?" he asked.

Frank and Henry chuckled.

"They forget everything," Danny explained. "Linda forgot my name one time," he shared as an example.

Jamie was certain his brother was messing with him now. "You're so full of -" he started to say.

"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you," Danny interrupted and grinned into his glass. "You'll see."

Frank settled back in his own chair. "How has her first week at the precinct been?" he inquired.

"According to her, terrible. She was not looking forward to the transition - doesn't like being stuck indoors," Jamie explained.

"Sounds like a Reagan," Henry commented.

"I don't know how you managed with her out on patrol the last two months. It would have driven me crazy," Danny grumbled. He was naturally overprotective of his family, but to think his pregnant wife was out there dealing perps everyday would have killed him. He was thankful that Linda was tucked away inside of a hospital during most of her first pregnancy and at home during the second. He hated to sound like a chauvinist, but it was just in his nature to worry about and want to protect his family. It was just scary sometimes to be a cop on patrol - you never knew what to expect. Hell, he still worried about his little brother and he was a well-trained, fully-capable police officer. He had even started to worry about Eddie, way back when she became part of the family, before she got pregnant.

"What was I supposed to do? Club her over the head and drag her into the precinct and order her to stay?" Jamie asked.

"No, just saying, I would of worried," Danny clarified.

"So long as she and her doctor were okay with her staying on patrol as long as she did, there's not much you can do about that either," Frank said. He agreed with Danny, though, and considered himself lucky he'd never been in that situation with Mary.

"I have to admit, it was one less worry when she went on limited duties, especially after last week," Jamie conceded.

That got the room's attention.

"Something happen?" Frank asked worriedly.

Jamie mentally slapped himself for opening his big mouth. "Well, yeah, but she's fine. Everything's fine," he assured them.

All three men stared back at him seeking more information.

Jamie sighed, realizing that Eddie probably wouldn't have wanted to make a big deal out of the incident, especially with the family. Actually, he was pretty certain she would probably kill him for telling them. "She and her partner had trouble with a collar and a guy who tried getting in the way of the arrest." That was about as much as Jamie was willing to say about that whole situation. "So she talked to her doctor and they decided it was time to request limited duties," he concluded.

Jamie was relieved when his normally, overly-inquisitive family didn't seek additional details on the matter, not that they weren't capable of finding out more on their own. "And you didn't hear about that from me, otherwise I'll be sleeping over here for about a week," he warned.

Frank smiled. "That's good, son. So long as they're both okay."

"Yeah. They are."


	9. Chapter 9 - 15 Weeks

15 Weeks - Late Night Conversations

Henry tightened the sash on his robe and made his way down the stairs slowly. He was surprised to see the glow from the television in the sunroom spilling into the living room. He walked across the mostly darkened living room and found Eddie curled up sideways on one end of the couch with her head resting against the back cushion. She was sporting Jamie's Harvard hoodie and had a blanket wrapped around her legs as she clutched a glass between her hands.

Henry became concerned when he heard her sniffling and saw that she was wiping her at eyes. "What are you doing up, Eddie?" he asked softly.

Eddie startled at the sound of his voice, cursing softly and bringing one hand up to her chest.

Henry held a hand up. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologized and took a seat on the other end of the sofa.

"Did I wake you?" Eddie asked as she wiped her eyes.

Henry continued to stare at her in concern. Even in the dim light, he cold see that her eyes were a little puffy. "Me? Nah. Don't you know that old people hardly sleep?" he shot back.

Eddie scratched the top of her head where her hair was pulled into a messy bun. "Neither do pregnant people, apparently," she countered with a half smile.

Henry grimaced and let out a groan. "Morning sickness?" he surmised.

"That and having to get up for the bathroom. Then I just can't get back to sleep," Eddie said as she changed positions and sat indian style on the couch. "And I was a little disoriented when I woke up upstairs," she added.

Henry looked out the window and could see that the snow was still coming down hard outside. "Well, it's good to have you here, but hopefully they'll get the power back up at your place tomorrow so you can get some rest in your own bed." Henry studied his granddaughter for a moment. "Can I get you something, honey?" he offered.

Eddie held up her glass. "No, I'm good for now. But thanks," she answered.

Henry narrowed his eyes at her. "You sure you're okay? You look upset," he replied.

"Besides the nausea and the weird dreams I keep having, I'm fine," she assured him. Eddie smiled and jutted her chin out at the television. "It's my new thing for sleepless nights...I find really bad, old movies on TV and get sucked into them," she told him and grimaced as she considered what she was about to reveal. "And then they make me cry. Doesn't matter what they're about - comedy or drama." She sighed. "I cry now," she conceded with a miserable look on her face.

Henry laughed quietly. "Ahh. That symptom I remember well," he said.

"I'm surprised Jamie hasn't shared a mini-meltdown story with you all," she stated, a little embarrassed by herher new ability to shed tears at the drop of a hat.

"Nah," Henry denied her assumption. "That's not him. You know that better than anyone else," he told her.

Eddie smiled and looked down at the glass in her hand. "I'm just grateful I haven't broken down at the precinct. God, it's bad enough being chained to desk and having to take bathroom breaks to go throw up, but what would everyone think if I started to break down in tears right there in the middle of the precinct?" she wondered.

Henry could imagine how that might be a problem. "I'm sure you work with a lot of good guys, but they'd probably be thrown off by tears on the job," he said.

Eddie took a sip from her glass. "Who wouldn't be?" she asked. "I'm thrown off by the tears and I'm the one doing the crying," she replied.

"How is life at the precinct, anyway?" Henry inquired.

"It's an adjustment," Eddie simply stated. She shrugged and looked at the TV. "I miss being on patrol," she confessed.

"I don't blame you. I was never very good at playing house mouse myself. I remember it being an adjustment as I went up the ranks too, not being on the streets everyday. But eventually I ended up with so may other responsibilities and headaches, that I didn't have time to miss it," Henry explained. "Until I became PC, that is." Henry chuckled. "Most days, I wished for the good old days walking the beat."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I'll have much of a chance to miss it once the baby comes. Six months just feels like forever," she grumbled.

"It will be here before you know it," Henry assured her. He looked over at the darkened living room, almost as if lost in a memory. "Before you know it, your kid'll be all grown up and having kids of their own. It's cliche, but time really does fly. Seeing you and Jamie get married and having a baby now, brings back a lot of good memories of me and Betty when we were starting out," he shared. Henry smiled to himself and looked back at Eddie. "Wish you could have met her. She was a lot like you. Smart and beautiful. A real spitfire, too. Knew how to keep Reagan men in line," he boasted.

Eddie smiled shyly. "Now you're the one that's gonna make me cry," she whispered.

Henry laughed and turned toward the television. He pushed his glasses up his nose to get a better look at the screen and his brows arched up upon recognizing the film. "No wonder you're in tears," he groused. "This movie was created to guarantee every woman has a good, hard cry every time they see it," he stated.

"It seemed so cheery and happy in the beginning," Eddie defended. "Started with a pink wedding and a crazy father of the bride and his gun and cranky old ladies. But it all went down hill from there, not that it would have really mattered," Eddie grumbled.

"I remember Betty and Mary watching this. Frank and I just exchanged a look and said nothing. That seems to be the way to go," he commented.

Eddie giggled. "Jamie gets that dear-in-headlights look, like he's struggling to find the right thing to say," she revealed.

"He'll learn quickly that there really isn't," Henry said.

Eddie and Henry were sharing a laugh when they heard the kitchen door open and close.

Jamie was just getting out of his jacket and pulling a hat off his head when he appeared in the doorway. He thought he'd come back from tour to find everyone asleep and looked at the pair in confusion. "Hey. What are you guys doing up?" he asked as he rubbed his cold hands together.

Eddie pointed at Henry. "He's old."

"She's pregnant," Henry added.

Jamie tilted his head in confusion. He'd missed out on something here but he wasn't so sure he wanted to ask what that something was. He turned to see what they were watching and was even more confused by all of the crying women on the screen.


	10. Chapter 10 - 17 Weeks

_I was wondering if anyone guessed the movie Henry caught Eddie watching...or did I go too far back in picking it out?_

17 Weeks - Body by Baby

Eddie laid back across the bed and sucked in a deep breath as she struggled to get the button closed on her jeans. She fought long and hard, but knew she had lost yet another battle. Eddie pulled her tank top up and looked down across her once flat stomach. She couldn't deny it any longer - it was growing. She'd first noticed it less than two weeks ago, but at the time it was only noticeable to her and Jamie when she was undressed and to Jamie when he'd hug her. Her uniform had always been a little loose on her so she hadn't felt much of a difference there, but her street clothes, although she could still button up her pants, was definitely getting tighter.

But now? Now there was a definite and obvious swelling of her belly, which meant the time had come to put away all of her favorite skinny jeans and figure hugging, sexy little outfits that she loved so much. Heals would go next because she was told she'd get clumsier and lose her balance more as the baby grew. Goodbye to all her beautiful shoes that helped feed her denial of her truly small stature.

Giving up, she brought her arms over her face and groaned in defeat.

And that's how Jamie found her when he came searching for her.

His brow furrowed and he stopped in his tracks when he saw Eddie laying across their bed with her pants undone. "Hey, what's taking you so long?" Jamie asked. "We're gonna be late," he then pointed out. When she remained motionless on the bed, he became concerned. "Eddie, you okay?"

"No," she sniffled from under her arms.

Alarmed, Jamie approached the bed quickly and sat down next to her. He laid a gentle hand on her thigh, now worried that something was wrong with her and the baby. "What's the matter? Do we need to call the doctor?" he asked, ready to jump into action.

Eddie dropped her arms and looked at her husband, her face clearly pinched in annoyance. "What? No? Why would you think that?" she barked.

Jamie was confused. "Cause you look like something's wrong," he said cautiously.

"There is," Eddie confirmed and got up on her elbows. "I can't close my pants," she confessed. She looked down forlornly at the open fly of her jeans and let out a whimper.

"Huh?"

"My pants don't fit anymore, Reagan! This is it! When I start to blow up like a balloon and have to wear giant maternity clothes," she cried and let herself fall back on to the bed with another pitiful whimper.

Jamie didn't know how to respond to that, so he went with what first came to mind. "Well, it was bound to happen, right?"

Which probably wasn't the best thing to say based on the glare he was receiving - a glare that had him wilting where he sat.

Stupid, Reagan. He could hear Danny snickering at him in his head.

"Yeah, bound to happen. First my stomach will pop out, then the waddling begins and the cankles," she whined. She let out a sigh. "I don't want cankles," Eddie groaned.

Jamie stared back in silence, afraid to say anything else. He knew she'd had a rough night with the morning sickness that would just not go away, not to mention the hot flashes that had come out of nowhere. She'd been able to nap during the day and he had hoped she was still up for a night out with some friends to cheer her up.

So much for that idea.

He started to recall Danny saying something about mood swings and keeping your mouth shut and nodding. He wished he'd paid more attention to his brother's words of wisdom on marriage and family, seldom and few as they were. So Jamie kept his mouth shut and hoped that the look of understanding he was shooting for was coming through loud and clear.

"What is wrong with me?" Eddie asked and turned in his direction.

Jamie was a deer in headlights and prayed she really wasn't expecting an answer. He didn't have one, at least not one that wouldn't upset his pregnant wife. But she'd always give him a look like she really expected him to answer back.

"Why did I pretend this day wasn't going to come eventually, huh? Now I got pants that don't fit and nothing but yoga pants to wear. Erin and Linda offered to take me shopping and I put it off! What was I thinking?" Eddie ranted.

"You want to stay home tonight? I'll call everyone and tell them we'll pass," he suggested. That was all he could offer at the moment.

And suddenly her whole disposition changed before his eyes.

"No. Been stuck at home all day. Gotta get out of this apartment. Help a girl up, would ya?" she asked.

Jamie hopped to his feet to offer her his hand and helped her off the bed. He watched her retreating form and sat back down on the bed and waited, he just wasn't sure what exactly he was waiting for.

Eddie was rumaging around in one of the bathroom drawers, that much was obvious to him. After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom, pants still undone and revealing her little baby bump which brought a smile to Jamie's face.

He loved her like this. He had never understood the whole pregnancy glow thing people would talk about, but he did now - she was radiant. He'd been oblivious to anything having to do with his sisters' pregnancies when they were having their kids. He was disinterested and too caught up being a teenager, getting through high school and then college, to pay any attention. So everything with Eddie's pregnancy was new and exciting, and sometimes strange, but his wife was changing everyday and he couldn't love her more.

Eddie disappeared into their closet, so Jamie waited some more. He could hear hangers shuffling from one side to another and assumed she was looking for pants that did fit, but when she emerged, she was still wearing the same jeans she'd been crying over a few minutes ago. Her legs were now tucked into a pair of knee-high caramel colored leather boots and she wore a red, off the shoulder sweater that came down just below the hip.

Eddie raised her eyebrows at Jamie. "You ready to go? Thought you said we were going to be late?" she asked him.

Jamie was still confused by the pants. "Did you get them to close?" he queried.

"What are you talking about?" she asked return.

"Your pants," Jamie indicated. "You got the button to close?"

"No," she said and walked out of the bedroom, turning off the light as she went.

Jamie sat in the dark and decided this was one of those times where it was probably best not to ask questions.

"Let's go, Reagan!"


	11. Chapter 11 - 18 Weeks

_Hopefully back on schedule now..._

18 Weeks - Making Yourself Known

Eddie swallowed a bite of her sandwich and looked up at Erin and Linda. "So where we going anyway?" she asked. She called them earlier in the week and asked if they were still up for helping her shop for maternity clothes. They decided to make an afternoon of it - lunch and some shopping afterwards while the guys got a basketball game together.

"There's a couple places near here that some of the nurses I work with raved about when they were pregnant. Like you, they just needed the clothes for when they weren't working, so it's not like they were looking for a full wardrobe," Linda explained as she picked up her wrap.

Erin wiped her mouth and looked over at her younger sister-in-law. "Have you switched to a maternity uniform yet, Eddie?" she asked.

"As of a few days ago, no. I was still squeezing into my regular uniform, but I don't think I can put it off any longer. I already bought it, but it's just so big...like one size fits all or something. It practically swallows me up," Eddie shook her head. "It'll be strange to switch," she said as she took another bite out of her sandwich. She couldn't seem to eat it fast enough. She'd been so hungry right before they got to the restaurant that she'd almost started to feel queasy.

"You know you can still wear your regular pants, right?" Linda told her.

"Not as of last week," she responded dejectedly and brought the glass of ginger ale to her lips. Although she'd been glad to figure out a way to get her pants to stay up that night they went out, she didn't think she'd get away with keeping her pants up with just a hair tie for much longer.

"You just need a belly band," Erin said.

Eddie brought her glass down and gave them a strange look. "A what?"

"You'll see. You put it on and it holds up your pre-pregnancy pants," Linda advised.

She looked from one woman to the other. "Why didn't I know about that before my meltdown last week?" she blurted out.

"So much to teach you, my friend," Erin shot back.

"Well, I'm all ears. I'm the first of my friends to get pregnant and I feel like a fish out of water. I've never really been around babies which actually has me a little worried. I've never even changed a diaper," Eddie admitted. She really did worry about how she was going to take care of this baby.

"Don't stress over it. You'd be surprised how easily and naturally it'll all come to you," Erin assured her. "And you'll have your mom and us," she said as she stabbed some lettuce out of her bowl.

"Yeah, and your husband knows how to change diapers. You can put him on that duty," Linda added with a smirk.

Eddie smiled at the thought, her sandwich forgotten for now so she could pick all of the watermelon out of the fruit salad she'd ordered, she couldn't get enough of it this week. "You guys got him to change your kids' diapers? Wish I could've seen that," she said just before stuffing a piece of the juicy fruit in her mouth and closing her eyes to savor the flavor.

"Danny may have set him up a few times to tackle diaper duty with Sean. And I think Sean got him the first time, if you know what I mean," Linda hinted and laughed at the memory. "It was one summer Jamie was home from school. The boys came over to watch football," she added.

"Gross," Eddie responded but then laughed at the image she was conjuring up of the incident.

"Pulled the same thing first on Joe, but with Jack. Which was what Danny was aiming for, of course," Linda said with a grin.

"Why am I not surprised," Erin whispered around her last bite.

"By the second time on diaper duty, Jamie knew to keep a certain part covered at all times," Linda stated and resumed eating.

"Let's hope for a girl," Eddie quipped, afraid of finding herself in the same situation.

"So how's the morning sickness these days?" Erin asked as she sat back in her chair.

"Better this past week. I actually get really hungry now which is a weird change from not wanting to look at food for too long or I'll toss my cookies. But I still can't stand the sight of meat and greasy food," Eddie shared.

"Told you it would happen eventually," Linda said.

"Yeah, it's happening all right. I was this close," Eddie held her thumb and index finger about a half inch apart, "to going back into that kitchen myself if the waiter hadn't shown up when he did with our food." Eddie shoved another chunk of watermelon in her mouth. "And why can't I stop eating watermelon?" she wondered. "I never liked it before," she told them.

Erin and Linda looked at each other before they smirked at her.

Eddie went to pick up her drink when her hand suddenly went to her stomach. "Woah," she cried out.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked first.

"You okay?" Erin followed up.

"I think it moved," she responded, her eyes were wide and she was stunned by what she'd felt.

"The baby?" Erin asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Oh, weird. There it is again. Like my stomach's flipping without wanting to throw up," she explained. A smile spread across her face as she looked up at her lunch companions.

"And so it begins," Linda said with a grin.

"Wait until it's poking hands and feet through your belly. That's something I never got tired of," Erin said fondly. "And when it starts for you, I want to feel it," she pleaded.

Eddie frowned. "That makes me think of that old alien movie." She shook her head. "Pregnancy's weird," she declared and went back to her sandwich.

Erin and Linda laughed.


	12. Chapter 12 - 20 Weeks

20 Weeks - Not Changing my Mind

"All right, guys. We ready to take a look at your baby?" The ultrasound tech asked the expectant parents while she was busy spreading the warm ultrasound gel over Eddie's rounded stomach.

"Yes, but we don't want to know the sex," Eddie informed her. She had one arm tucked behind her head as Jamie held on to the other.

"You sure you want to wait?" Jamie asked her again with some uncertainty.

Eddie turned her head towards her husband. "Yes! I thought we talked about this, Reagan?" she asked with just a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"We did. I just want to make sure you're still sure," Jamie replied with a shrug.

She really wanted it to be a surprise and part of him did too, but another part of him was very eager to know if they were having a boy or a girl. Eddie said that came from the Reagan family's inability to let surprises transpire in due time.

She was probably right about that.

"I'm sure," she said adamantly and gave him look before turning forward.

"Okay, so there you go," Jamie told the tech, unable to hold back a grin.

"Okay then, no info on the sex." The tech grabbed the probe and ran it across Eddie's stomach. The flat screen on the wall across from the exam table came to life with a clear, black and white profile of their baby.

Jamie squeezed Eddie's hand as he stared back at the screen. "Wow. Look at that," he whispered.

"Yeah. Actually looks like a baby now," Eddie responded in awe, her own eyes glued to the screen. At the first ultrasound two months ago, they'd had trouble identifying anything more than the blobby head and body of their baby. It was all clearer once the doctor started to point features and parts out, but today, they didn't need the tech's help to make out legs, feet, arms, hands or even their baby's little nose.

Eddie's eyes were tearing up.

She really hated these damn hormones.

* * *

"Hey. We were wondering where you two were. Francis was just about to send his detail out looking for you," Henry called out as Jamie and Eddie made their way through the kitchen door.

"Sorry. We had a late appointment and getting out of the city was ridiculous," Jamie responded as he helped Eddie out of her jacket.

Everyone was gathered at Frank and Henry's for a Thursday night dinner since Frank would be out of town that weekend. Danny was taking a box loaded with Chinese take-out cartons into the dining room as Erin filled a pitcher with water and Frank uncorked a bottle of wine.

"Everything okay?" Frank asked.

"Everything's fine. We just had an ultrasound appointment," Eddie assured them as she deposited her purse on the counter.

Linda was walking into the kitchen and overheard Eddie and her face lit up. "Ooh, really? They give you any images we can see?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Eddie's got them," Jamie said and walked over to the sink to wash his hands for dinner.

Eddie grabbed the black and white strip of images out of her bag. She handed them over to Linda before meeting Jamie at the sink and playfully nudged him out of her way.

Henry, Frank and Erin huddled around Linda to take in the images.

"These things are amazing. In my day, you had a kid and didn't know anything about the sex and health until it was born," Henry grumbled.

"Speaking of sex, what is it?" Erin asked excitedly. She was secretly hoping for a girl.

All four pairs of eyes stared at Eddie and Jamie where they stood leaning back against the kitchen sink drying their hands with a couple of towels.

"We don't know," Eddie responded.

"Aww, they couldn't see what it was," Linda stated with some disappointment.

"No. What she means is that we're gonna wait until it's born to find out the sex," Jamie clarified.

"Really?" Erin asked in surprise.

The young couple nodded back at the rest of the family.

"Oh," Linda said and studied the pictures more closely, wondering if she could spot anything as to the sex.

"'Oh', what?" Danny asked as he walked back into the kitchen with an empty box. "What're you all looking at?" He walked over to the huddled group and saw the images in Linda's hands. "That the baby?" he asked with some interest.

"Yup," Jamie answered.

"So what is it?" Danny inquired as he looked up at the couple.

"We don't know," Eddie repeated.

"What do you mean you don't know? I thought they could see three-D and in color with those machines now?" Danny argued.

"No, Danny. They decided to wait," Linda explained.

"Until what?" Danny asked dumbly.

"Until it's born," Henry said. It had been the norm for him so he didn't see what the big deal was.

Danny's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why would you do that?" he asked.

"Here we go," Jamie whispered in his wife's ear.

Eddie ignored Jamie and said, "To make it a surprise."

"What's a surprise?" Nicky asked as she joined the family in the kitchen. "What is everyone looking at?"

"We're never gonna eat at this rate," Jamie mumbled and crossed his arms in front of him.

Eddie snorted beside him.

Erin smiled and walked over to the island to place the water pitcher down. "It's an ultrasound of the baby. Jamie and Eddie decided to let the sex be a surprise," she told Nicky. She smiled at her brother and sister-in-law. "I think that's great, I just don't think I would have been able to wait," she admitted.

"Me either," Danny said and walked away while breaking apart the box in his hands.

Frank arched his eyebrows as he thought back to when he and Mary were having the kids. "Wasn't a real choice you had when you kids were born, the technology wasn't exactly what it is today, but I think I would have wanted to know if given that choice," he said.

"See, it's a Reagan thing," Eddie whispered at Jamie which earned her a laugh in response.

Frank gave Jamie and Eddie a smile and added, "But it will be one heck of a surprise, that's for sure. So long as it's healthy." And he walked out to the dining room.

Linda handed the ultrasound images back to Eddie. "I agree. It will be a great surprise," she told them.

"Yeah, but now we call it 'it' until July?" Danny asked, but quickly moved on to a more urgent matter. "Foods ready, let's eat. Come on, Eddie. Hopefully what we got you won't upset 'it.'"


	13. Chapter 13 - 22 Weeks

22 Weeks - The Name Game

"Sweet Jesus."

Eddie laughed and dropped on to the bed next to Jamie. She laid her head on top of his shoulder and stretched her arm across his chest with a sigh of content.

"You're insatiable...I like it," Jamie whispered and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sure you do, sport," Eddie acknowledged, but she couldn't help but smile. They had a pretty healthy sex life before she got pregnant, but her libido had been out of control the last few months. "Me too," she admitted and closed her eyes.

Jamie could only reply with a smile of his own and turned to kiss his wife's forehead.

"Know what I was thinking?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm?" Jamie had begun to zone out and it was all he could manage at the moment.

"We're halfway there and we haven't talked about what we're gonna name this kid," Eddie said.

"Be easier if we knew what it was," Jamie mumbled.

Eddie glanced up at him, catching sight of his relaxed expression through the dim street lights peaking through the drawn curtains. "That again?" she asked with some annoyance.

Jamie smirked. Sometimes it was fun to poke at a sleeping bear. "Just saying," he said with a shrug.

"So we'll have to come up with choices for each. You managed to get through Harvard, I think you can manage to do this," she replied in a huff.

"Okay. So any ideas?" he asked.

Eddie braced herself up against one arm. "Nothing weird. And nothing they can get teased about. Definitely nothing like my name," she said.

"What do you mean? You go by your nickname. It's not weird, everyone calls you 'Eddie,'" Jamie argued.

"Exactly. You thought you were getting a fat, Hungarian guy as a partner before you saw me. And you know how kids are. Teachers always called me 'Edit' at some point during the school year but they never said it right and I always got teased in elementary school," she complained.

"I bet those were just the boys that liked you," Jamie offered.

Eddie laughed. "Still, no weird names they'll be teased with," she declared.

"Okay. So fruit names are out then also," Jamie deadpanned.

Eddie smacked him lightly on the chest. "Be serious for a second," she ordered.

Jamie laughed. "I am being serious. No weird names. Nothing that sounds like it came from some crazy celebrity," he explained.

"And none of those names that try to be unique with the spelling," Eddie added. Her nose scrunched up. "Don't like those," she muttered.

"So more traditional?" Jamie asked. "Wouldn't have pegged you for traditional," he commented.

"Traditional goes better with 'Reagan,'" Eddie said.

"What? Do we make a list?" he asked her.

"We make a list," Eddie confirmed. "And if there's a name either of us hates, it comes off and no arguments. Agreed?"

"Agreed. But who gets the final say?" he asked.

"Well, I would hope we could just agree in the end," she replied.

Jamie snorted. "Yeah, but..."

"I gotta squeeze out the bowling ball, so..." Eddie argued.

"What?" Jamie shot her an incredulous look. "How's that fair?" he wondered.

It was Eddie's turn to laugh. "You wanna talk fair, Reagan? Let's discuss fair when we're in the delivery room and I'm cursing your existence," she countered.

Jamie cringed. "Okay. I'll give you that," he conceded and sighed deeply as he brought the covers up higher. "At least I can cross them out before then," he told himself.

Eddie smiled and kissed him on the lips before laying back down to get some sleep. "I knew you'd see it my way," she said as she settled down.

The next morning, a sheet of paper was placed on the refrigerator with a couple of magnets and two labeled columns - one for 'boy' and the other for 'girl.'

It was Sunday and they had no where to be until the afternoon for the mass and the usual family dinner. So they spent the morning enjoying breakfast on the couch as they read the paper. Trips to or by the kitchen meant a stop at the fridge and the addition of a name to the list and, sometimes, the rejection of a name. And so began the quest to name Baby Reagan.

"Oh, come on. Seriously?" Eddie growled. "I just put that one up a minute ago," she complained from where she stood in front of the breakfast counter.

"No arguments! That's what you said," Jamie called out from his reclined position on the couch.

Eddie had thought of a boy name on her way to the bathroom and added it to the list. On her way back to the living room, she'd stopped by the kitchen to grab a snack and noticed a thick black line already drawn across it.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh, Reagan?" Eddie muttered as she peeled a banana and made her way back to the living room.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Eddie glared in his direction. "You're gonna scurry to check the list every time I put one up there," she accused while pointing the banana at him.

"I didn't scurry. I made a coffee run," he defended himself from behind the paper.

Eddie picked up the section of the paper she'd been reading and resumed her position on the other end of the couch, taking a generous bite of her banana as she shook her head in annoyance. "You've only put one up," she pointed out through a mouthful of fruit.

Jamie brought one side of the paper down to get a peak at his wife. "I'm still thinking them through," he explained.

Eddie rolled her eyes. "You're gonna overanalyze this to death, aren't you?"

"Hey, it's an important decision," Jamie countered. "Plus, can't have you crossing out all of my suggestions," he added with a smirk and raised his paper back up.

"So that's how you're gonna play it?" she asked.

Jamie chuckled.

Eddie raised her own section of the paper and mumbled, "Annoying, Reagan."


	14. Chapter 14 - 23 Weeks

_A/N: Loved the reviews and PMs for the last chapter and hearing people's suggestions for baby names. I meant to ask people for suggestions to see which names would come up. Still not decided on the name._

23 Weeks - Change with the Times

 _did ur tour get extended?_

 _yeah_

 _should be off soon_

 _what r u doing up? its the middle of the night_

 _couldn't sleep_

 _back was sore_

 _was kind of hungry too..._

 _think i know where this is going_

 _:)_

 _so?_

 _I really need my mango_

 _brought home a few on weds_

 _that was 2 days ago_

 _pls!_

 _i'll do my best, no promises on what i will find at 1am_

 _its nyc, u can find anything at anytime_

 _i have faith in u reagan_

 _i'm sure you do_

 _so does this kid_

 _Oh brother_

 _i luv u!_

 _hurry home_

* * *

Jamie made his way into the apartment without making any extra effort to be quiet because of the late hour. He knew Eddie would still be up awaiting her latest craving.

And he was right...

"Hey, you're home!" Eddie said happily.

Jamie smiled at her from the entryway where he dumped his things before picking up a plastic shopping bag and heading over to his wife in the living room. "Are you happy to see me or to see what I was able to score on your behalf?" He wasn't going to kid himself about what really made her happy these days.

Eddie laughed, but was unable to keep her eyes from zeroing in on the heavy bag in his hands. "I'm always happy to see you, but even more so when you bring me something good," she replied.

"I bet," Jamie took a seat on the sofa and leaned over to kiss his wife before carefully depositing the bag of fruit in her lap. He then settled back against the soft cushions and slid the shoes off his tired feet to put them up on the coffee table.

Eddie took a quick peek inside the bag, her face lighting up when she inspected the goods. "Woah. This should get me through the weekend, at least. Told you you could do it," she beamed back at him as she took off toward the kitchen to prepare her late night snack.

Jamie snorted in amusement. "Sure. Only took visits to three bodegas and a bribe to the last shop owner to keep them in stock for me." He had a flashback to his conversation with his brother, father and grandfather a few months back...he really hated it when Danny was right.

"Bribe?" she asked.

"Yeah. That's not an easy thing to find in the winter. Wanted to save myself another search of the city for those things," he explained.

"I knew you loved me," Eddie called out from the kitchen, busy peeling and slicing the semi-ripe tropical fruit.

Jamie remained boneless against the sofa. He closed his eyes and considered going to bed but decided instead to keep Eddie company while she satisfied her craving, then they could both go to bed together.

Jamie zoned out for a while until he felt the couch cushion dip beside him followed by a smell that signified the presence of Eddie's food of choice. His eyes popped open and he took an exaggerated sniff of the air. "I don't know how you can eat that," he commented.

She looked at him innocently. "What? It's fruit."

"Mango swimming in vinegar and covered with salt and pepper? I don't even know how you came up with that," he responded.

Eddie shrugged as she swirled a slice of mango in the seasoned vinegar. "I don't either. I woke up one day and I had to have it," she said quickly before taking a bite. Eddie closed her eyes as she savored the tart fruit. "Sooo good," she said with a mouthful of mango. "Want a bite?" she asked and extended a piece in his direction.

"No," he replied quickly as he shook his head.

"Good. More for me." She stuffed another chunk in her mouth and asked, "How was tour?"

Jamie was slow to respond as he observed her eating her snack with a fond smile. His smile grew as a small piece of the fruit fell from her mouth and plopped down onto her growing belly, which she promptly snagged and threw into her mouth. "Quiet at the beginning, but had a collar just before the end of tour and had a few reports to file which kept me late."

Eddie looked over at Jamie and noticed him staring at her. "What?"

Jamie blinked repeatedly as she pulled him out of his zone. "What what?"

"Why are you looking at me that way? Do I have something on my face?" she asked as she quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"It's just funny," he replied.

"What is?" she asked.

"That everything you've been craving so far, although out of the ordinary for you, has all been kinda healthy, even though you put weird stuff on it," he explained.

Eddie chortled at that observation. "I already told you that I blame you for that. When this kid's out, you're taking me to Peter Luger's to make up for the lack of red meat in my diet during this pregnancy."

"I better save up. That'll be an expensive meal if you go back to eating the way you did before," he pointed out.

"I better and it sure will, but it'll be sooo worth it. And plan it now, Reagan. I've already been warned we'll have to plan date nights way in advance," Eddie said. She looked down at the bowl she had in her hands before turning to Jamie. "Do you realize how different everything is gonna be once this baby comes?"

"Sure. No more hanging out with friends on a whim," he began.

"Or late dinners out at ten pm and beers after tour," she added.

"Well, I hear sleep will be a rare commodity, so I don't think we'll be missing our social life at first," he reasoned.

"Linda said I won't be going to the bathroom alone for a few years...still not sure what that's about," Eddie said as she looked to Jamie for an explanation.

Jamie's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I don't know either, but it doesn't sound good."

"It won't be about us anymore. Everything's gonna be about the baby - feedings and poopy diapers and schedules. We'll probably second guess every decision we make, or at least I will, cause well, that's a whole other human being I can possibly screw up," Eddie said.

"We'll have a whole different set of priorities, but I guess that's the trade off for all of the perks that come with having kids. We're gonna have this little human being we're gonna fall in love with the second we see it. Everything new is gonna be an adventure and we get to go through that together," Jamie replied fondly while reaching to caress his wife's stomach.

"It's gonna be a wild ride, isn it?" Eddie asked with a bright smile.

"With you, babe, I wouldn't expect anything less."


	15. Chapter 15 - 24 Weeks

24 Weeks - Still a Cop

Eddie was making her way down Seventeenth Street on her way to the Twelfth. It had been another one of those days when she couldn't find street parking any closer than a few blocks out from work, which seemed to be happening more often these last few weeks with the construction going on around the precinct. On days like today, she always ended up parking on the same block and taking the same stroll down a fairly busy street lined with bodegas, delis and retail stores.

Despite the fact that it was chilly out, her light coat was completely open at the front, in the hopes that the early morning spring air would cool her overheated body. Her thin cotton tee, although loose, did nothing to camouflage her bulging stomach - nothing did anymore. The pregnancy hot flashes that started up at the beginning of her second trimester where still in full force. They were so bad sometimes, that she'd started leaving windows open around their apartment, much to her husband's chagrin. Jamie didn't even bother to take off his coat when he'd come home to find the windows wide open. He seemed smart enough to keep his mouth shut on that topic and let her be - comfortable for her was freezing for everyone else, apparently. She wondered how she would manage carrying this kid into the summer months.

Eddie was less than two blocks out from the precinct and nearing the doorway of a small dollar store where an employee stood outside, sweeping the entrance before the business opened for the day. Eddie made eye contact with the man, who'd she'd seen a few times on her way in to work and sent a small smile of acknowledgement his way, like she'd done in the past.

As she approached the store employee, she noticed that his stare bordered on lascivious. Eddie turned to see if there was someone else walking behind her that was the true recipient of the stare, but found no one. She frowned slightly and readjusted the strap of her bag, then faced forward and kept walking past the creepy man when he suddenly called out to her.

"Good morning," the store employee greeted.

Eddie narrowed her eyes, but responded with a simple 'morning' and continued on her way.

"Hold up a second," the man called out as he placed his broom up against the storefront.

Eddie stopped on the sidewalk and turned around to face the employee.

"I've seen you around a few times," he stated and shot her a toothy smile.

"Yeah, I work nearby," she responded and went to head back in the direction of the precinct.

"Hey, wait up," he said and reached for Eddie's arm.

His grip was gentle, but Eddie didn't hesitate to pull her arm out of his grasp and took a few steps back.

"What're you doing?" Eddie looked up and down the block, noticing that it was fairly busy and she wasn't alone. If she wasn't a cop, she would have scurried away from the strange man, but something about him had alarms going off inside her head. "What do you want?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've seen you around," he repeated and grinned at her, he then nodded in the direction of the store. "I don't open for another hour," he said.

"So?" Eddie asked, confused by his statement.

"Do you want to come in for a few minutes?" he offered.

Eddie's eyes widened and a laugh escaped from her mouth. "Sorry, buddy. I got work," she responded. She shook her head in disbelief, thinking she'd just seen it all. Why the hell was this guy trying to pick her up?

She was turning away when he spoke again.

"I can make it worth your while," he whispered.

Eddie stopped in her tracks, her cop senses were on full alert now. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but thought of her time on the decoy unit. "Yeah, how so?" she asked as she turned around and looked at the creep through curious eyes.

"I got fifty bucks," he stated.

Eddies eyes widened again. She didn't know whether she was more disgusted or insulted, but she played along. "For what?" she asked, hoping he was buying her naive act.

The sleezebag leered at her and she swore she could actually feel her skin crawl. Eddie felt compelled to close her coat. She then thought that chances were this wasn't his first time doing this.

"However far you want to take it. But you're a really pretty little thing, so..."

Eddie gave him her most innocent expression. "So you're offering me fifty bucks for..." she said with some confusion.

"You, know...sex, sweetie. How many ways do I have to spell it for you?" he whispered, hoping he was going to get lucky with the seemingly sweet and harmless woman.

Eddie's eyes widened. "Oh, oh, well," she giggled, looking around her nervously while trying to look embarrassed and somewhat interested. "Really?" she asked him with a blush.

"Of course. You come in and spend some time with me, the money's yours," he promised.

"Oh, uh, but my boss, he's waiting for me. I work around the corner. If I don't give him some excuse he'll fire me. I'll be right back. That okay with you?" she replied with doe eyes.

The creep's own eyes brightened. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be here."

"You better be," she sang back. "What's you're name?" she flirted.

"Julio," he tossed back.

"All right, Julio. Think you can give me ten minutes?" she said sweetly.

He just looked her up and down and nodded with a smirk.

Eddie returned the smile and walked down the rest of the block and around the corner feeling like she needed a shower. She was so taking this guy down, but she wasn't crazy busy enough to do it on her own. Once she was out of his sight, she pulled out her cell phone and waited as it dialed Renzulli's number.

"Hey, Sarge? It's Eddie. Are you at the precinct already?" She paused while she listened to his response on the other end. "Great, 'cause there's a situation," she said and smiled. She really missed being a real cop.

* * *

Eddie was pulling a bottle of juice out of the fridge when she heard the door. "Hey, you. You're home on time," she called out.

"Hey." Jamie met her in the kitchen for a kiss and stole the bottle put of her hand for a sip. "Quiet day," he responded and leaned back against the counter. "How was your day?" he asked as he handed the juice back.

Eddie laughed. "You want to hear about my day? Normally there wouldn't be much to tell since my days are chock full of boring paperwork and telephone duty," she told him.

Jamie sensed today was different and narrowed his eyes. "But..."

"I actually made a collar today," she said brightly before taking a swig from the bottle.

"What? How?" Jamie frowned and jumped up to sit on the counter and get the details.

Eddie put her juice down and stood in front of him. "Well, I actually had an assist from Renzulli and JC," she clarified.

Jamie shook his head. "Hold up. Go back to the beginning," he requested.

"You know all the construction around the Twelfth?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"Got stuck parking few blocks away again and as I was making my way to the precinct," Eddie paused to smirk as she thought of Julio in lock up, "well, apparently I still got it despite the basketball I swallowed 'cause I got propositioned on the way to work."

"Seriously?" Jamie asked in a combination of shock and anger that someone would actually do that to her.

"Gee, thanks, Reagan," Eddie said in mock insult, but she knew where he was coming from.

"You know what I meant. I mean, who does that?" he asked.

Eddie's eyes widened for a moment. "A real perv, but I handled it," she said with a proud smile.

"Who was it?" Jamie asked, but couldn't help grinning back at his wife. He was also thinking that he was going to look the guy up and talk to Erin about getting herself or someone as equally tough to prosecute the guy.

"Some guy who works in one the stores I have to go by on my way to the precinct. It got even better when we were booking him. Apparently, and just as I suspected, it wasn't the first time he's done this. We had a couple of complaints filed about some creep propositioning women for sex in the area. Unbeknownst to him, one of them was under eighteen. They're coming in tomorrow to ID him," Eddie explained.

"Wow, babe. That's good work," he praised her and wrapped his arms around her back so he could lean in to kiss her.

When they broke apart, she said, "Reminded me how much I miss being a real cop."

"I get that," Jamie responded. And he did. He had hated being stuck at the precinct the few times he'd been on limited duties because of an injury. She tried not to show how much she hated her temporary assignment, but he knew she missed being out there. "But it won't be forever," he said.

"Well, I'm sure I'll get over missing the job once I got other things to keep me more preoccupied," she replied with a grin. She had a feeling that would be the only thing that could top being a cop.


	16. Chapter 16 - 25 Weeks

25 Weeks - Alive and Kicking

Eddie looked over her shoulder to see if Jamie was still with her. She knew he was looking for any reason to get out of this, but if she had to do this, so did he. It was his fault they were in this little predicament to begin with...or at least that was what she would tell him from time to time for her own personal amusement. "So what are the chances we'll end up running into your ex while we're here?" she asked him.

She was walking down the main aisle of the Buy Buy Baby staring at the ridiculous number of things they sold.

"That's not funny," Jamie responded. He was gripping a scanner in his right hand and suffering from a bout of deja vu which led him to stop and look around to make sure that Sydney was, in fact, no where in the vicinity.

A devious, little smile worked its way across Eddie's face. "I thought it was," she replied.

Jamie was equally overwhelmed by the size of the place. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather do this with your mom or Linda or Erin?" he asked.

Eddie stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms over her stomach while narrowing her eyes at her husband. "You trying to bail on me, Reagan?" she grumbled.

Jamie tried hard not to let her pick up on the fact that he wished he was anywhere but in a baby store. Instead, he picked up an item from a bin in the middle of the aisle, as if considering it. "No. Not at all. They just know more about this stuff than I do," he explained. He studied the packaging and wondered why the smiling, happy baby was wrapped up tight in a straight jacket. "You know, more knowledgeable about baby stuff," he said and held up the odd product to prove his point.

Eddie squinted at weird baby item and then looked him in the eyes. "Yeah, well, I love them all, but I have a feeling it would turn into a six hour affair ooh-ing and ah-ing over all the cute baby stuff and I'd rather do it quickly and go home and take a nap. So I'll point out the thing we need and check it off the list while you scan. We finish up and then you're taking me out to lunch before we go home. Got it?"

All he heard was the word 'quickly.' What else was there to say to that? "Got it," he replied.

Eddie made her way to the back and they started with the big items - the crib, changing table and a glider. They were going to keep things to a minimum for now - only the things they really needed once they brought the baby home. They decided to stay in their one bedroom apartment until their lease was up - they'd renewed right before they found out she was pregnant and saw no point in rushing to move when the baby would be in their room early on anyway.

They picked a small crib and mattress and now they were lounging around amongst the sea of gliders in every shape, color and size imaginable. "Oh my god. Is it possible to love a piece of furniture?" she wondered out loud and closed her eyes as she sank further into the plush chair and brought her feet up on to the matching ottoman.

Jamie sat beside her, equally comfortable in his glider as he softly rocked back and forth. "This one would be good for watching the Jets on TV," he stated.

Eddie turned and smirked at him.

Jamie looked back at her and said, "You know, while I'm feeding the baby and stuff."

"Sure you will," Eddie replied with a raised eyebrow.

She lifted the tag off the side of her glider and Jamie did his part and scanned it. She dropped it suddenly and her hand went immediately to her belly, dropping her feet from the ottoman while sitting up quickly. "Oh, jeez," she gasped and her eyes widened.

Jamie went on high alert at her expression. "What's wrong?" he asked as he dropped the scanner on his chair and kneeled on the floor next to her.

Eddie met his eyes, smiled and reached for his hand. She laughed and said, "Oh my god. You gotta feel this!"

She positioned his hand on the left side of her stomach and held it against her.

"What are we feeling for?" he asked.

"The baby, what else? It's kicking and I could feel that one from the outside too," she explained.

They waited and Jamie thought he'd missed his chance when suddenly there was a little thump under his hand.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. His eyes shot up to hers and a smile formed on his face. "That's amazing and incredibly weird at the same time," he whispered. He laughed as the baby kicked his hand again.

"That's the first time I've actually felt it from the outside. Usually it's just flipping around inside. Kinda freaky," she said, just as awed by it as her husband was.

Jamie kept his hand on her stomach but moved from the floor to the ottoman in front of her. He put his other hand on the other side of her stomach and waited. He was rewarded several times over. They both remained glued to their spots and lost track of time until finally it seemed that the baby had decided to take a nap.

"Party's over," Jamie said in disappointment. He could have sat there all day with his hands glued to Eddie's belly.

"You ready to get the rest of this over with?" she asked.

"We barely started. How many things are on this list?" he inquired.

Eddie looked it over and then glanced at her watch. She reconsidered the situation and said, "New plan. Let's just do the other important things and we'll do the rest of the little things online, after lunch and a nap."

"I concur," he said. Jamie held his hand out and helped her out of the glider. "Come on. Maybe if we feed it, it'll start jumping around again."


	17. Chapter 17 - 27 Weeks

27 weeks - Pre-Baby Romance

Eddie approached the door to the apartment when she heard a knock.

"Who is it?" she asked just as she looked through the peep hole and found a young, gangly kid holding a large, white box, looking rushed and impatient as he waited on the other side of the locked door.

"Delivery," the male voice responded.

Eddie's brow furrowed as she thought hard about whether she was expecting anything, but could not think of one single thing. She shrugged and opened the door, looking expectantly at the young guy.

"Eddie Reagan here?"

"Yeah, that's me," she replied.

The kid stared back at her doubtfully, but he was in a hurry and so long as it got delivered to the right address, he didn't care who received the package. "Okay, here you go," he said as he handed over the box, making sure the pregnant woman had a good hold on it before letting go. "I just need you to sign for it," he advised.

Eddie took the box and placed it on the the entryway table while she signed the delivery log, thanking the delivery boy as she closed the apartment door. She turned around and looked at the tall box suspiciously and took a few steps toward it to search for an address label, but found none.

Eddie shrugged and grabbed a pen from the drawer under the box, stabbing it through the tape that ran along the edges. She pulled the front flap open and gasped at what she found inside.

"What the..." she whispered to herself, but couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. She reached in and lifted the flower arrangement that sat inside, freeing it from the box and moving it into the dining room to get a better look. Eddie placed it on the table and her eyes misted over as she recognized the arrangement - it was a replica of the bouquet she carried when she married Jamie, a simple, tight cluster of white hydrangea and peonies and the tall, narrow vase was even wrapped in a cream satin ribbon just like the one the stems of her bouquet had been bundled together with.

Eddie let out a soft laugh and reached for the card poking out from the top, opening it to read the note:

 _Two years and I still remember it like it was yesterday._

 _Be at 265 E. 54 street at 1pm._

 _Don't be late, Janko._

 _Love,_

 _J_

"What the hell, Reagan?" Eddie asked herself. She reached for her cell and hit a speed dial button, cursing promptly when she went to voicemail after several rings. Jamie was working the day tour, so she couldn't imagine that she'd be meeting him.

Their anniversary was on Monday...he was up to something and she needed to know what it was, so she sent him a text instead.

 _what r u up to , reagan?_

Eddie's eyes went from her phone to the bouquet and the smile was plastered back on to her face when she thought of their wedding day, but she was quickly brought back to the present when her phone signaled an incoming text.

 _don't know what ur talking about_

"Uh, huh," she mumbled to herself as she typed away.

 _sure you don't_

 _just go with the flow_

 _trust me_

Her smile brightened at his reply.

 _Always_

Eddie glanced at the time on her phone and figured she'd better start getting ready if she was going to be on time.

* * *

Eddie felt as if she was one with the massage table she was laying on. After a facial and a massage, she was completely boneless and relaxed. She hadn't felt this way since...she really couldn't remember when. The back pain she'd had the last few days was a distant memory and if not for the fact that she was laying almost completely naked in one of the back rooms of a spa, she would have allowed herself to fall into a deep restful sleep.

The masseuse was straightening up when she glanced over at her client. "How are you feeling, Eddie?" she asked.

"Like I want to take you home with me," Eddie responded.

The woman chuckled and came around the table to face Eddie. "I'm happy to hear that. You take your time getting up and dressed, but I was told I had to pass this on to you before you left," she replied while handing Eddie a small envelope.

"What's this?" Eddie asked as she accepted the square envelope.

"I'm not sure. I guess you'll have to open it up," she said as she smiled back and made her way out of the room.

Eddie got herself up into a sitting position on the table, securing the blanket that covered her body before pulling a small notecard out of the envelope to read the familiar handwriting.

 _Now that you're thoroughly relaxed, time to head to your next destination: 166 Elizabeth Street at 3pm. Don't be late!_

 _J_

Eddie chuckled, curious about this next destination, but based on what she'd just experienced, she didn't think that she'd be disappointed at all.

* * *

Eddie slurped up the last of her mango smoothie as she waited for her freshly painted toes to dry, the matching polish on her fingernails having set a while ago. She glanced at the time on her cell where it sat along the arm rest, realizing Jamie should be getting off tour soon, she was eager to see him after the day she'd had.

But what she didn't realize was that she wasn't done yet.

The manicurist came up to Eddie and smiled warmly. "You should be all set, Eddie. I just have one thing for you..." the woman trailed off as she pulled something from her pocket and offered it to her customer.

Eddie looked suspiciously at the proffered item, recognizing it as the same type of envelope she'd received from her husband at the spa. After a moment of shock, she accepted it and thanked the woman before reading the note.

 _You're not done yet. Head to 248 Broome Street now. Time's a wasting._

 _J_

"What the heck, Jamie?" This address she recognized, but she didn't expect to be visiting it today.

* * *

"Come on Maddie, you can't hold back. You're my hair dresser. I tell you everything and I expect the same in return!" Eddie argued.

The brunette stylist laughed at her client as she finished blowing out her newly trimmed tresses. "Well, considering we are just about done here," Maddie turned off the blow dryer before meeting Eddie's eyes in the mirror, "he may have left you something," she revealed with a smirk.

"Seriously?"

Maddie ran her fingers through Eddie's hair, adjusting a few locks. "Yeah."

Eddie's brows dipped. "I don't know what else there's left to do," she said.

"Well," the stylist replied as she pulled an envelope from a drawer at her workstation, "why don't you find out," she said before handing it over and stepping away for a moment.

Eddie looked down at the envelope, tearing into it quickly to see what was next.

 _Go home, get ready. I'll pick you up at 7:30pm, back to one of the places where it all started._

 _J_

Eddie was stumped and totally confused by the note. Where it all started? They met at the Twelfth. She frowned and hoped they wouldn't be spending a Saturday night at the precinct.

* * *

Eddie unlocked the door and walked through the apartment expecting to find Jamie home, despite the note saying he would be picking her up. She'd tried calling him on the way home to find out where they were going, she'd even texted him, but got no response.

"Jamie?" she called out into the apartment, becoming annoyed when she got no answer and realized she was alone. How was she supposed to get ready if she didn't know where they were going?

Eddie sighed and made her way to the bedroom, trying to think about what she would wear when she came to a sudden stop just inside the bedroom door. Laid out across the bed was large gift box.

Eddie closed her eyes and shook her head, biting down on her lower lip to suppress a smile. "What are you up to, Reagan?" she asked the empty room and approached the bed.

Eddie flipped the lid off the box and gasped softly at what she found. She ran her fingers across the soft fabric before pulling the cream lace and chiffon dress out of the box. It was definitely maternity, but still beautiful and elegant and the lace v-neck sleeveless top with a satin ribbon belt was totally reminiscent of her wedding dress.

And tucked into the bottom corner of the box were a matching pair shoes. He'd thought of everything and it brought the tears back to her eyes while a cross between a sob and a laugh burst from her mouth. Eddie pressed her hands to her lips, taking a deep breath in through her nose. She caught sight of the clock on Jamie's nightstand and went into action - she had less than an hour to get ready and knowing her husband, he would not be late.

* * *

Jamie walked into their apartment, all dressed up in his black suit and a crisp white dress shirt, at 7:30 on the dot as promised. He walked through the entryway and heard his wife moving about in the bedroom. "I'm home," he announced.

"I'm back here," Eddie called out.

Jamie spotted the flowers on the dining room table and smiled. "You ready, babe?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Eddie replied.

Jamie stood in front of the dining room table, focused on the floral arrangement when movement to his right drew his attention away.

And then his jaw dropped.

Eddie stepped out of the bedroom in the figure-hugging dress he'd bought her with her golden blonde hair cascading down her shoulders and a smile on her face that melted his heart.

As Eddie approached him, her smile became almost shy at seeing his reaction. She came to a stop in front of Jamie and without so much as a word, reached up to cup both sides of his face and drew him in for a kiss that deepened quickly. Neither was able to pull away - Eddie because she was grateful for the day of pampering he had given her and Jamie because he had never seen her look more beautiful.

Eddie was the first to speak when they finally broke apart, her face still beaming back at him. "You really out did yourself today. I'm impressed," she praised him.

Jamie laughed softly as he leaned forward to press his forehead against Eddie's and wrapped his arms around her. "Well, I figured next year it would be a party of three and it might be harder to do these things without booking a sitter weeks in advance," he reasoned.

"You're probably right about that," Eddie agreed.

Jamie was having second thoughts about his plans for the night as he leaned in to kiss her again. "Maybe we should just stay in," he whispered.

Eddie giggled, knowing where his mind was headed. "There will be plenty of time for that later, I promise. First, you got to feed your kid," she ordered. "So? Where are we going?" she asked. "Your note said 'where this all started.'" Eddie narrowed her eyes as an earlier thought popped into her head. "We better not be having dinner on the steps of the Twelfth," she warned.

Jamie's forehead wrinkled at her guess. "That's one way I could have gone, but no, not the precinct," he told her and pulled away, taking hold of her hand as he led her to the entryway. "After we started dating, really dating, after the Wade mess and we both healed up, we got dressed up and went on a real date, our first date you could say, to a place without paper napkins, chicken wings and two-for-one drink specials like we'd normally go to," he reminded Eddie as he helped her into her coat.

"Giovanni's," she answered with a knowing smile. Jamie had found a romantic little Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, far away enough from the Twelfth Precinct at that time so that they could enjoy a night out together as a couple, away from prying eyes, and it easily became a place they went back to to celebrate special occasions.

"Yup," Jamie said while opening the door.

They made their way out of the apartment and were waiting for the elevator when Eddie thought of something. "We haven't been there in a long time."

"Yeah."

"That was a really good night," she said and reached for Jamie's hand.

After dinner that night, they'd gone back to Eddie's apartment. It was the first time they'd made love and despite Jamie's bulky cast and their efforts to be careful with his still healing wrist, it had been an amazing night, one on which they'd each been certain they loved one another but were still too afraid to say it out loud.

Jamie couldn't help but smile. "Certainly was," he confirmed and gave her hand a squeeze.


	18. Chapter 18 - 29 Weeks

29 Weeks - Close Call

Jamie pulled the squad car up alongside the first responding unit which he knew were Officers Trejo and Salas, two veteran officers from the Fifteenth. He and his current partner, Paul Hastie, jumped out of the car and sprinted into the bodega with their guns drawn.

"What do we got?" Jamie asked as he took in the scene.

"All clear, Sarge," Salas advised as he got up from where he'd been bent over one gunman. "Armed robbery in progress. These two were robbing the place. Pedestrian saw it go down and called it in. Got him waiting outside. Shots fired when we arrived, one perp wounded in the exchange, the other gave it up when his buddy went down. Bus is on the way."

"Any other injuries?" Jamie asked. He holstered his weapon and walked across the small store, looking down the four narrow aisles and glanced at the mirrors up on the far corners of the store.

Trejo was on the ground applying pressure on the perp's shoulder wound. The young latino male was writhing in pain with his hands secured under him as his arresting officer looked up at his Sergeant and said, "Negative. We had one employee and four customers in the store when these two knuckleheads came in. Rest of the place is clear."

The uniformed employee sat on the floor against the front counter. An elderly couple lay on the ground just at the edge of the first aisle and a woman and a young guy in a suit sat against the coolers near the door to the storage room and rear office, opposite from the store's entrance. All five wore the same expressions of shock on their faces.

"All right, Hastie, let's get the witnesses out of here. Get them checked out. Start getting their info and statements," Jamie ordered his boot. He could hear sirens in the far distance, knowing more units would respond along with the bus.

"You got it, Sarge," Hastie responded and made his way to the man and woman near the coolers.

Salas was getting the uninjured perp to his feet. Hastie was escorting the trembling woman around the wounded gunman while instructing the male customer to follow and Jamie was lifting the old woman off the ground when all hell broke loose.

Jamie saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but didn't react quickly enough, too focused on the sobbing old lady clutching on to him.

Shots rang out in quick succession as Salas yelled, "Gun! Drop your weapon!" He shoved his handcuffed perp back to the ground and went to draw his own gun, but he was too late to stop shots from hitting him in the thigh and Hastie in the back. Both officers went down immediately. Hastie never even saw it coming.

Trejo was still on the ground providing medical assistance. He managed to only get one shot off as the gunman zeroed in on him. Trejo's body jerked back as two shots hit him, his gun falling from his hand as he fell to the floor.

The female customer screamed and ran into one of the nearby aisles for cover. The male customer was shooting back at them, inching his way to the rear exit and yelling for the two original gunmen to run.

Jamie pushed the woman away and pivoted around while pulling his own gun out of its holster. He fired three shots at the third gunman as return fire struck his upper arm, knocking him off balance and he tumbled to the ground. But he recovered quickly as the gunfire continued around him. He shoved the old couple back and crawled behind store shelves. Salas' perp was up and running across the store as his buddy provided cover. The other was struggling to turn over and calling for his friends' help, but they were too worried about themselves to come back for him.

Jamie looked out at his guys, writhing on the ground and out in the open. He looked around the edge of the shelving and fired at the retreating gunmen, but took cover quickly when items were shot right off the shelf above his head. He reached for his shoulder mike to call for help. "15-Seargent to central. 10-13, shots fired at this location, multiple officers down!"

The radio began to spit out orders to other units in the area. Jamie peered out around the edge of the shelves and saw the shooter walking backwards to the rear. He fired again and moved quickly to the coolers. Jamie's chest was heaving and he was oblivious to the wound on his arm. He heard the back door slamming closed and looked over at his guys. Blood was pooling around Salas' leg and he dropped the idea of following after the gunmen. He needed to help his guys first and holstered his weapon.

"Central, two Latino males fleeing the rear of this location, one in cuffs. I got three officers down, one under and injured. I need multiple buses forthwith!" Jamie yelled in to his mike before he slid down near Salas who was pale and sweaty, panting heavily as he clutched his thigh. "Hey, Nate. You're gonna be okay, man. Just stay with me, okay?" he assured the injured officer.

"Yeah," Salas managed to respond and gasped as Jamie put pressure on the entry wound.

"Sorry, man, sorry," Jamie apologized but knew he had no choice. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Hastie and Trejo. "Paul? Talk to me, partner."

The sirens of the numerous approaching squad cars echoed just outside the storefront.

"Hurts like a bitch, Sarge," Hastie hissed. "But I think...the vest caught 'em. Just hurts...to breathe," he tried assuring both his seargent and himself. Paul got himself on all fours and crawled over to Trejo.

"George?" Jamie called out to his last officer who lay still on the floor, desperate for a response.

"One to the vest, other in the shoulder like this other douchebag," Hastie reported and pressed on the wound with one hand as he reached for the officer's neck with the other. "Pulse is strong, but he's out," he added.

Officers were streaming in now, followed by medics who went to the most seriously injured first - Trejo and Salas. Jamie gave a description of the perps to the first officers and a BOLO was sent out over the air.

The witnesses were helped out of the bodega as Jamie and his partner sat back against some shelving and watched in shock as the medics worked on getting the injured officers and the perp transported. Several other responding officers surrounded them, trying to offer help, but they remained unresponsive, both just trying to calm their racing hearts. Jamie snapped out of his daze when the medics began to move the officers. He got up from the floor, wanting to stay close to his guys when another pair of medics descended on him.

"Hey, where you going, Sergeant Reagan? We need to get you looked at," one medic said.

Jamie looked at the medic. "I'm fine. I need to stay with them," he dismissed them.

"You're all going to the same place, so technically you'll be with them. But that blood's running down your arm pretty freely. You need to get it looked at," the medic stressed.

Jamie's brow furrowed, not understanding what he was talking about until he looked down at his arm dumbly. "Oh."

"Oh is right. Come on. Your other guy is right behind us," the medic said as he escorted Jamie out of the bodega while more units responded to the scene.

* * *

Frank stepped off the elevator and took a deep breath as he made his way to the end of the hallway. When he reached the door to Eddie and Jamie's apartment, he took moment to prepare himself before knocking. Once he did, it was only a moment before he heard movement on the other side.

Eddie opened the door, looking surprised to find her father-in-law at the door. "Frank? What are you doing here?" she asked as she looked down at her watch to check the time.

Frank didn't beat around the bush. He could see the worry starting to build in Eddie's eyes as soon as she laid eyes on him and he was already concerned about upsetting her. "Eddie, don't panic, but Jamie was involved in an incident, but he's fine," he said quickly.

Eddie's stomach clenched and her brow creased in confusion. "What do you mean an incident?" she asked.

"Shots fired at a robbery call. Four officers were hit, including Jamie and his partner, but his injuries are minor," Frank explained.

Eddie's face drained of all color. "He got shot?" she asked in a breathy voice.

Frank nodded. "He got hit in the arm, but he's fine, sweetheart," he reassured her.

"Where is he?" she asked as she turned to search for her bag and coat.

"At Bellevue. I can take you over there now," Frank advised. He remained in the hallway as she gathered her things. As soon as she closed the apartment door behind her, he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders as they walked through the hallway. "I would have called you sooner, but I didn't want you to hear the news over the phone."

Eddie glanced back at Frank but said nothing. She seemed to be moving on autopilot and he could see that the worry from before had turned to panic despite his assurances about Jamie's condition.

Eddie spoke after they stepped into the elevator. "What happened?" she asked.

Frank shook his head. "It's not clear yet. Jamie and another unit responded to a robbery in progress. The first unit reported two under and then few minutes later Jamie called in a 10-13 and shots fired."

Eddie let the words sink in. "But he's okay?" she asked. She knew Frank wouldn't lie to her but she couldn't get her mind to believe him.

Frank gave her a warm smile and gently squeezed her shoulder. "He is."

* * *

Jamie was sitting on the edge of a gurney in an ER exam room with his upper arm freshly stitched, bandaged and numb, just like the rest of him. He was just pulling his uniform shirt off the end of the gurney to slip it back on when the door opened and Eddie came into the room. She stopped just inside the door, staring at the bandages around his arm when her pale face began to crumble.

Jamie jumped off the gurney and went to his wife, pulling her to him and rubbing her back gently. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay, all right?" He assured her and lowered his head, grounding himself in the familiar scent of her shampoo as chills ran across his body.

Eddie didn't trust herself to speak and wrapped her arms around Jamie's waist, taking calming breaths to slow her racing heart.

Jamie continued to soothe her and kissed the side of her head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Feeling her and the baby pressed up against him, he not only realized how close he came to losing it all, but how much this must have scared her.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't shoot youself," she mumbled into his bare chest. She wasn't ready to let go yet, at least not until her heart slowed to a normal pace. Then she whispered what she'd been thinking ever since Frank had told her Jamie had been shot. "I can't do this without you."

"You're not," he whispered back. Jamie squeezed her gently and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Last thing I want is you getting upset right now," he told her.

Eddie let out a teary laugh. "Then we're in the wrong business and I know you're not switching back to law," she replied.

Eddie looked up at Jamie and he lowered his head to kiss her.

"You're really okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was grazed and got some stitches," he assured her.

Eddie inhaled and let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes. It was what the doctor had told them in the waiting room, but she was afraid to believe everything was all right until she saw him in person. "Okay," she said calmly.

Jamie sighed. "They haven't told me anything about the other guys," he said, wondering if she knew anything.

"They're gonna be okay," Frank responded from the doorway. He'd stayed back to allow them a few minutes together. He knew Eddie had been struggling to hold it together in the waiting room and he wasn't laying any blame on the pregnancy hormones. His own stomach had dropped when he heard his son had been one of four officers taken to the hospital after shots fired at an armed robbery call. The whole department had been on high alert after hearing that multiple officers were down.

Jamie's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "All of them?" he asked, not thinking that was even a possibility.

"Yes, Son. Your partner took two to the back of the vest. He'll be sore a while, but he's fine. Officers Salas and Trejo are going up to surgery but the doctors said their wounds aren't life threatening," he advised him.

Jamie leaned back against the end of the gurney. "That's a miracle," he whispered.

"Yes it is." Frank paused as he tried getting his heart to catch up with his head. This hadn't been like Joe, but for a few moments, he was reliving that God-awful day. Frank pushed those thoughts out of his mind and examined his son. "How're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine, but...what a mess," Jamie said. He shook his head and rubbed his weary face.

"What happened in there, Jamie?" Frank asked.

Jamie recounted everything that happened, between arriving on the scene to deciding to stay and help his officers in lieu of pursuing the perps.

"You did everything right, Son," Frank stated.

Jamie had been staring off into space as he went through the incident. His head snapped up upon hearing his father's words. "Huh?"

"I know what's going through your head right now. Questioning how you could have stopped it, caught on to the suit being in on it, not pursuing. You did it all right, no one could have known," Frank tried reassuring him.

Jamie didn't respond because that was all he could think of, but he was grateful that the other guys were going to be okay. "Was there video in the bodega?" he asked.

"Yeah. Your brother and Detective Baez are getting the footage down to the squad. The guys in Robbery Division are looking to link these these guys to other robberies. I guarantee you this wasn't the first time they've done this," Frank proclaimed.

"Just the first time they've come so close to getting caught," Eddie added and reached for Jamie's hand.

"Yes. Hopefully, we'll have some shots of those two we can get out to the media. Every cop in the city will be looking for them," Frank promised.

"What about the third guy?" Jamie asked.

"In surgery. But we'll grill him as soon as he's awake." Frank studied his son and daughter-in-law. "I'd offer to take you two home but the Burrough Shooting Team's going to want to talk to you sooner rather than later."

Jamie nodded and grabbed his shirt. "Let's get it over with." He wanted these guys caught as badly as anyone else, if not more.


	19. Chapter 19 - 30 Weeks

_A/N: Starting to near the end - skipping over several weeks with the last chapters as I ran short on ideas to get me through the birth. :)_

30 Weeks - Happy Hour

Eddie was working her way through a bowl of mango and vinegar as she opened the door and was surprised to find her sisters-in-law waiting for her on the other side. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she asked around a mouthful of the sour fruit.

"Figured we could all do with a girls night in," Linda offered as she held up a pizza box.

Erin stood next to her holding up a brown paper bag with what she could only assume was more food to appease a pregnant woman.

Eddie smiled in return. "Yeah, come on in, but where are the kids?" she wondered.

"The boys are at a sleepover with friends," Linda said as she strode into the apartment.

Erin walked over to the refrigerator where she pulled a couple of pints of ice cream out of the paperbag and placed them in the freezer, smirking as she caught sight of the baby name list with about ninety-five percent of the suggested names crossed out. "And Nicky's going to a party, so I'm alone until her curfew rolls around," she explained while crumbling the bag and throwing it in the garbage.

"I take it Danny's working too?" Eddie asked before eating the last chunk of mango and placing the bowl in the sink.

"Yeah. He's popped in and out the last few days, but he and the whole squad have been working crazy hours on this case." Linda smiled sadly. "This whole thing's just been so crazy."

"Yeah. I've barely seen Jamie in the last five days - basically just when I'm rolling out of bed for work and he's still passed out in bed. Being on the sidelines, I feel more like every other cop's wife than an actual cop," Eddie commented and then narrowed her eyes at them. "Did Jamie send you over here to babysit me?" she asked.

Erin barked out a laugh. "You're a gun toting member of the NYPD. I think you're the last person that needs babysitting," she replied. "So, no. Linda and I, and we were certain that you too, could use a few hours to decompress after this week."

Linda smirked as she opened the pizza box and turned to grab some plates. "Think of it as happy hour without the booze," Linda joked. "I'm just grateful everyone was okay," she said on a more serious note.

Eddie ran a hand over her belly, grateful for that as well.

"How's Jamie doing?" Erin asked.

Eddie accepted a plate from Linda and led them over to the couch where they settled down in front of the television. "Arm's fine, but frustrated those punks haven't been caught," she told them.

"Well, that's understandable. Can't help but take it personally when it's you and your guys getting caught in all that," Erin reasoned.

"I know it wasn't easy getting that news," Linda said.

Eddie stared across the room and shook her head as she thought back. "No, it wasn't. Not only was it unusual to have Frank coming over for a visit at nine o'clock on a weeknight, but I knew it was something bad the second I opened the door and saw the expression on his face," she replied. She paused as she recalled the horrible feeling that washed over her when she'd heard Jamie had been shot. "Good news never starts with the words 'don't panic, but...'" she trailed off.

"No it doesn't," Erin agreed.

"I think Frank was more worried he was going to send me into early labor," Eddie commented.

The three women sat in silence for a moment, each thinking of the situation.

"No more of this. We came over here to relax," Linda ordered. She took a bite from her pizza and noticed that the television was on and made a face at the screen. "What are you watching, Eddie?" she asked.

Erin looked at the television and her eyes widened. "Oh my god, is that what I think it is?!"

Eddie's brow creased as she looked over at the two women."Maybe?" she said.

"I have not seen that in years!" Linda exclaimed.

"I always wanted to be Baby," Erin gushed. A smile spread across her face, her pizza momentarily forgotten. "My best friend in junior high stole her older sister's VHS of this movie and we would watch it whenever I slept over, after everyone else went to bed, of course. Our parents would not have approved of this movie," she revealed.

"Aren't you a little young to know about this movie?" Linda asked Eddie.

"What? It's like a classic chick flick, right?" Eddie shrugged back, almost a little embarrassed she'd been caught watching it.

"You don't strike me as a chick flick kinda girl," Erin countered with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do I have to keep reminding people that I am, in fact, a girl?" Eddie shot back as she pointed at her belly. "I thought this would have been proof enough for you people!" she blurted out.

Erin and Linda laughed at her.

"Yeah, keep pointing at that tiny belly of yours. I swear, with Sean, at seven months I looked like I was past full term," Linda groaned.

"Well, he was an nine pounder, Linda!" Erin pointed out. "Made me grateful Nicky was a petite six pounds," said in relief."

"Rub it in, why don't ya?" Linda shot Erin look.

Eddie grimaced. "Let's not talk about labor. I still don't know how I'm supposed to do that," she said.

"With drugs. That's how you do it. No shame in asking for them," Linda soothed.

Erin took a bite of her pizza and stared at the TV. "Do you know that I begged my mom for dance lessons because of this movie? She never caved. Had no clue where the idea came from since I was a total tomboy," she said.

Linda laughed. "What? Did you think Johnny was gonna be your instructor?" she asked.

Erin blushed and kept eating.

"Oh, I had such a crush on Patrick...the way he could move those hips," Linda said.

"Me too," Erin added.

"Yeah," Eddie sighed.

* * *

Jamie quietly opened the door and was surprised to find the television casting shadows across the otherwise darkened apartment. He placed his off-duty weapon, badge and wallet in his usual drawer of the small table in the entryway and walked over to the living room.

A soft smile spread across his face when he found Eddie sleeping soundly on the couch. With no room to sit down next to her, Jamie kneeled beside her and ran the pad of his thumb back and forth across her cheek. "Hey, babe," he whispered.

Eddie stirred slowly. "Mmm."

"Come on, we'll both be more comfortable in our bed. There's no room for me on this couch," he joked.

Eddie's eyes opened and she squinted up at Jamie. "Hi," she greeted him. She looked around the room, disoriented. "What time is it?" she rasped.

"It's three and time for bed," he said. Jamie reached for the remote and shut the TV off, the only light coming from the soft glow of the bulb over the stove.

"You're home late," she commented as Jamie helped pull her up to a sitting position.

"That's 'cause we got 'em," Jamie said and pressed his lips into a tight line.

"Who?" her sleep-addled mind asked as she rubbed her eyes, but it dawned on her a second later who he was talking about. Eddie's head snapped up. "The shooters?" she clarified.

"Yeah," Jamie confirmed. "Danny's squad traced them back to an apartment in the Bronx. They took 'em down tonight. I just came from identifying them at the Five-Four," he informed her.

"That's a relief," Eddie sighed. "No one else got hurt?" she asked.

"No, everyone's fine," he assured her.

"Good," she said and reached up for his help. She wanted to hear more but it would have to wait until morning. She needed to use the bathroom and wanted to go to sleep with her husband next to her. "You working tomorrow?" she asked while rubbing a kink out of her back.

Jamie kissed her properly on the lips and led her to the bedroom. "No. CO gave me the next couple of days off," he revealed. He hadn't taken any time off after the shooting, preferring instead to do what he could to help catch the missing gunmen. "My only plan is to sleep in late with you."


	20. Chapter 20 - 32 Weeks

_A/N: To Jess who reviewed as a guest, your topic does come up in an upcoming chapter, just not very in depth. :)_

32 Weeks - Pregnant Pause

"I just had a flashback to my high school health class, just without the giggling and groaning that'd you'd hear coming from a bunch of teenagers, you know?" Jamie blurted. He had looked around the room when the birthing video was playing and a lot of the other guys were cringing. He'd done his best to keep his face neutral, but he was definitely cringing on the inside. Even Eddie had a look of horror on her face. "I forgot about that video," he said.

"When I saw that in health class, I swore I would never have kids," Eddie recounted. She was feeling a little overwhelmed. "I need to sit down," she said and she walked off to the sitting area near the hospital's main entrance. "You kinda forget about the delivery part when you're going through the fun of making the baby. Why can't that part be fun, too?" she wondered. "It should be fun, too," she insisted.

Jamie and Eddie had just left the first of a series of birthing classes at St. Victor's and were almost out of the hospital when Eddie took a detour in the lobby.

Eddie had done a pretty good job during the last seven months of ignoring the fact that this baby would eventually come out, and when it did, it probably wasn't going to be a pleasant experience. "That was a lot of information to take in in a very short amount of time," she said and dropped into a chair, letting her purse fall to the floor in front of her feet so she could rub her belly.

Jamie sat down next to his wife and reached over to rub her back. "How many more of these do we have?" he asked.

"Three," she croaked.

"Seriously!?" Jamie blurted. He blinked repeatedly and hoped there were no more videos.

"How am I supposed to do that, Jamie?" she worried. She looked straight ahead, but wasn't really seeing the hustle and bustle of the hospital lobby. Instead, she was picturing herself lying in a delivery room in full-out, screaming labor. "I read the baby is the size of a cabbage right now. Right now! Well, it actually said a small cabbage, but still, think of a cabbage! And that means it will only get bigger, Jamie!"

Jamie's eyes widened at the comparison. That did sound large and for it to have to come out of a human body, too? He was struggling to find the right words of support, but he wasn't sure how anyone was supposed to do that, to be completely honest. This was obviously one of the things that helped prove who was truly the stronger sex. "Uh, well, Linda said drugs were okay," he stammered.

Eddie's head snapped toward Jamie. "Really, Reagan? Those are your words of encouragement right now?" she barked.

Jamie's eyebrows shot up into his forehead as he searched for something else to offer. "Honestly, I don't know...I just...," he sputtered, grasping for straws, but clearly failing.

"Hey, you two!" a voice called out.

Jamie looked up and saw his sister-in-law approaching. He had never been so happy to see her in all of his life.

"What are you two doing here?" Linda asked. She was dressed in her scrubs, on her way back in from a break and was surprised to find the young couple sitting in the hospital lobby.

"Hey, Linda," Jamie greeted.

Eddie dispelled any need for a greeting. "How did you deliver two kids?" she asked her sister-in-law.

Linda could see the panic on Eddie's pale face and chuckled. She made her way closer to them and sat down on the wooden coffee table in front of the pair. "Let me guess, you two just came from your first birthing class? The one where they show you the videos?" she inquired. She had a look of unabashed amusement on her face. She got settled by crossing her legs and placing her elbow atop her knee to support head, as if getting ready to be entertained by their fear of the unknown. "I made Danny go to those classes with me. I didn't really need them, but it was fun to drag him along. Grumbled the whole way there. He was as pale as the two of you after the video," she revealed. "More so, even, which is strange considering what you guys see on the job sometimes," she noted.

"There's gotta be another way," Eddie pleaded.

Jamie remained silent and took hold of Eddie's hand, hoping Linda had a few pearls of wisdom to soothe his panicked wife.

And himself.

"Oh, there is. It's called surgery, but trust me, for all of the pain you go through to deliver a baby, the second it's out, poof, the pain disappears. You have surgery and you're looking at a long recovery after. So anything you can do to avoid a c-section, the better off you'll be. I can't imagine caring for a newborn while recovering from surgery," Linda explained.

"Don't want that either," Eddie whined.

Linda laughed. "Only two ways out, sweetie. If you get an epidural, you shouldn't experience anything more than mild discomfort," she assured her. "Don't stress out over this. Seriously. It isn't anywhere near as horrible as they make it seem in the movies and TV." She waited until Eddie met her eyes again. "Do you think I would have had a second kid if it had been so bad the first time around, huh?" she asked.

"Guess not," Eddie assumed.

"And I had giant babies," Linda grumbled and pointed at Eddie's belly. "You look like you'll get lucky like Erin and have normal sized babies," she pointed out. "That's what's not fair," she said.

Jamie smiled and squeezed Eddie's hand. His sister-in-law was a saint. They may have to name their kid after her if it was girl. He would have to put that on the list when they got home.

Eddie dropped back in her chair as a pout appeared on her face. "I'm holding you to that, Linda," Eddie warned. The nerves were still there, but it was a relief to get some reassurance from a mother of two.


	21. Chapter 21 - 35 Weeks

_A/N: Two to three more chapters to go and this one will be done. I have another story in queue, but, otherwise, I have run out of story ideas, which has me bummed as I am itching to write something else. Prompts and ideas that anyone is willing to share to maybe get the juices flowing again are appreciated. :)_

35 Weeks - Nesting

"Remind me why we're doing this today," Jamie asked as he laid out all of the parts to the crib on one side of their bedroom. He'd spent the morning reconfiguring the furniture in the bedroom to make space for the small changing table and crib, under Eddie's watchful eye, of course.

"'Cause it's gotta get done," she told him from where she sat on the bed folding tiny clothes to put into the changing table that was already positioned in one corner of the room.

"Don't we have like over a month to go?" he asked distractedly as he searched for a part the instructions said was included in the box, but that he had yet to find.

"If we're lucky," Eddie said. "I don't know. We got all this stuff and it's driving me crazy to see it shoved in a corner of the dining room. I'm restless and wanna get it done," she explained.

Antonija, Erin and Linda had thrown her a shower last Saturday and she'd come home with more things than she knew what to do with. She'd kept the registry to a minimum, so she could only assume people had compensated for that with things they thought she needed to have.

"Okay then," he said and did a double take when he finally spotted the missing part.

Eddie scrunched her face at all the parts lying across the floor. "Are you sure you don't wanna get some help with that?" she asked.

"Maybe just your help holding something up while I screw in a few pieces together," he advised. Jamie glanced back at his wife and saw the doubt on her face. "What's with that look? I can fix a car. I should be able to put a crib together," he reasoned. "How hard could it be?" he asked.

"Okay," she shot back with a smirk.

Jamie stood up and went over the sorted crib parts before stepping back to the bed to check out all of the items laying across the comforter. He frowned at one thing in particular and picked up the package he remembered from the day they went to start the registry at the baby store. "What the hell is this thing?" he asked.

Eddie looked up at the item he held in his hands. "I have no idea. Looks a little sadistic to me, but the baby sure looks happy," she responded and went back to her chore.

"So do half the nuts at Bellevue," he whispered.

Eddie smiled at his words. "That might go in the return pile," she said.

"Definitely," he declared. Jamie threw the package onto the far side of the bed, turning to face his own project. "Okay. Ready to get started," he announced.

* * *

"Thought you said you could do this?" Eddie asked two hours later.

"I can do this," Jamie argued. "I did do this already. Just give me a sec," he said through a frustrated sigh as he studied the crib assembly diagrams for the twentieth time.

"You sure about that? I don't want this falling apart when our kid is in it," she cautioned as she eyed the extra bolt in his hand.

Jamie shook his head adamantly. "It's not gonna fall apart. I followed every step. They must of just included extra nuts and bolts," he assured her.

Eddie put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips at him. "Then sit in it," she dared him. "If it doesn't fall apart, then I'll feel better," she added.

Jamie outright smiled at her stance. He could tell she was going for a serious look, but it was lost on him as soon as he saw her arms crossed over her bulging stomach which was covered only by her tightly stretched t-shirt. "And when it collapses because it's not meant to hold my weight, you'll still blame it on the assembly," he argued back.

Eddie grinned at him.

Jamie stood up next to the crib and grabbed the edges to give it a shake. "That thing is solid. There's not a single place I could stick another bolt that isn't already taken. Give me some credit, babe," he said.

"All right," she conceded. She knew him to be very handy and trusted that he'd put the thing together correctly, but she just couldn't help but goad him a little for her own private amusement. "Throw the mattress in, please," she requested.

Eddie had put all of the other baby stuff away, except for a small pile in the corner of the room that would go back to the store. The only things that remained on their bed was the mattress with a fitted sheet already secured around it and the rest of the washed bedding.

After Jamie did as he was told, Eddie placed the rest of the bedding in the crib and stepped back to admire their work.

Jamie came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her ever expanding waistline. He dropped his head on to her shoulder and said, "Looks good. You'd think we were bringing a baby home tomorrow or something."

"Yeah, right. Bite your tongue," Eddie replied with a laugh. "Although, they say there are things you can do to induce labor sooner, which would be great cause it's hot as Hades already and all I want to do these days is lay in bed with the a/c on full blast." And to prove her point, Eddie stepped over to the bed and let herself fall back with a sigh of content.

Jamie followed her over and laid down next to her. "Oh, yeah? How?"

Eddie turned her head to face her husband. "Spicy food, for starters," she advised.

Jamie gave her a look of doubt. "You and spicy food? You've never been a big fan of lighting your mouth on fire. What else you got?"

Eddie pursed her lips as she considered that idea. "If it worked, I'd endure the pain," she said as she turned to look back up at the ceiling. "Walking is supposed to bring the baby down," she added.

Jamie shook his head. "Walking means going out into the heat. Anything else?"

"Sex."

Jamie chuckled. "If that were true, this kid would have delivered months ago," he reasoned.

Eddie gave him smirk.

"Not that I'm complaining," he added. With a smile still plastered on his face, he turned onto not his side, bringing an arm across her body as he peppered her bare shoulder with light kisses.

"Of course you're not," she replied.

"I say we try that one."

"Maybe later, sport. We got bags to pack for D-Day," Eddie said and rolled herself off of the bed to continue with her preparations.

Jamie groaned, thinking they were done.


	22. Chapter 22 - 37 Weeks

_A/N: Getting near the end, so a lot going on in this one._

37 weeks - Ready or Not, Here You Come?

"Why don't you bang in sick?" Jamie asked while he stuffed an extra set of clothes into his duffle bag.

Eddie rolled her eyes as she finished the last of her breakfast at the dining room table. "Because I'm fine. And pretty soon I won't be working anymore," she answered.

Jamie clipped his off-duty weapon to his belt as he approached his wife. "Eddie, you were miserable last night," he reminded her.

"I wasn't miserable, just tired and achy becuase my lower back was driving me nuts," she corrected. "I'm still tired, but when am I not these days?"

With his hands on his hips, Jamie shook his head at her. "You're so stubborn," he muttered.

Eddie grinned at him. "Pot, kettle, Reagan," she shot back.

Jamie couldn't help but smile back. "All right," he conceded. "I got to run or I'll be late. Try and take it easy, will ya?" he said and leaned over to kiss her goodbye.

Eddie carressed his cheek with her right hand as they separated. "'Cause there's a chance I'll strain myself answering phones and doing paperwork?" she asked with a raised brow and a grin still on her face.

"I give up," he sighed and gave her one last kiss.

"Love you!" Eddie called out as he made his way out of the apartment.

But the smile fell from her face as soon as Jamie left. She had been feeling pretty miserable last night, but Jamie was a worrywart as it was and she didn't want to give him more reason to worry, so she just played it off as the usual preganacy fatigue and discomfort, which she also figured it was. She still had three weeks to go, right?

She could probably make due with staying in bed, but it was true what she had said - she'd be on maternity leave pretty soon and didn't want to take more time off than necessary before the baby came.

* * *

Eddie was sitting at her desk, trying to focus on her work, but was having a tough time. As soon as she'd gotten into the precinct, she'd started up with the Braxton Hicks contractions, or so she assumed, and had done her best to continue working through them so as not to draw any unwanted attention in the middle of the squad room. They were mild and just annoying when they started, but they'd gotten stronger in the last hour. When Eddie had snapped her pencil in half during the last one, she was afraid something was really wrong and figured it was a good time to check in with her doctor, so she decided to get up and head to the locker room.

A good while later, Renzulli walked into the squad room with a couple of files for Reagan and frowned when he found her desk empty. He spun around to search for her when he spotted her standing in front of his desk, facing the rear of his office with her cell phone to her ear.

Renzulli walked into his office ready to rib her a bit. "Hey, Reagan, what're you doing in here? You making personal calls on company time? I have a couple of files I need you to work on."

Eddie barely seemed to acknowledge his presence as she leaned over and brought her other hand down to his desk and braced herself against it.

Renzulli became concerned immediately. "Reagan? Hey, you okay?" he asked as he walked behind the desk to get a better look at her. Renzulli dropped his files haphazardly on top of his other paperwork and his brow furrowed when he caught sight of the pale, strained expression on her face.

"I can't get a hold of Jamie, Sarge," she replied as calmly as she could but didn't look up to meet his eyes, focusing instead on thumbing through her cell phone.

She was clearly anxious about something, but Renzulli had no clue as to what. "What do you need him for?"

"My water broke," she said evenly.

Renzulli's head snapped back. "Wait, what? You're joking, right?" he asked with a nervous chuckle. "You're not due yet," he reminded her.

Eddie couldn't help the short, anxious laugh that escaped at the look on her sergeant's face. "It's my first baby, Sarge, but I'm pretty sure my water broke. Trust me on this one."

Renzulli's eyes widened to comical proportions. If it wasn't for the fact that she was freaking out on the inside, she would have completely burst out laughing.

"Doc wants me to go to the hospital, but Jamie's not answering. I need to get a hold of him. Now!" she told him in a rush, her nerves clearly beginning to fray.

"Okay, okay. Don't panic, all right? Is he on tour?"

Eddie nodded, her face contorting as another contraction hit.

Renzulli's eyes remained wide. He noticed her discomfort and thanked God that the contractions were either not that bad and/or that she wasn't a screamer - he didn't think he could deal with that. "Okay. Okay. I'll get you there. I'll get his CO to raise him on the radio. He'll meet you there, all right? I'll get you to the hospital and your husband will meet you there," he reassured her and grabbed his phone, quickly dialing over to the 1-5 while thinking he was way too old for this.

* * *

Jamie practically ran out of the elevator as soon as its doors opened onto the fourth floor. He was making his way past the waiting room to the labor and delivery ward when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey, Reagan!"

Jamie slid to a stop, turned around and found Renzulli getting up from one of the waiting room chairs.

"Sarge!? Where's Eddie? They told me downstairs she'd been brought up," he said in a breathy rush.

Renzulli couldn't help but smirk at the panic on his old boot's face. "They're getting her into a room," he advised.

"She okay? And the baby?" Jamie asked.

"I think so, from what I could tell. Looks like your kid is coming early, though. I didn't wanna be too nosey, but I also didn't wanna leave until you got here." Aside from confirming that Mommy and Baby Reagan were okay, there was nothing else he needed or wanted to know.

Jaime exhaled through his mouth. "Thanks, Sarge. I appreciate it," he said as he turned to continue the search for his wife.

"Hold up, Reagan," Renzulli called out and took a few steps closer to the younger officer.

Jamie stopped in his tracks again and looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"Well, you're about to be a dad," Renzulli stated.

Jamie turned around and smiled at the thought. "Yeah," he confirmed.

Renzulli looked Jamie over before meeting his eyes and pointing to his midsection. "Sure you wanna welcome your kid into the world with your service weapon clipped to your belt? Pretty sure the kid won't too much of a threat at this point. Or ever."

Jamie's eyes went down to his waist and widened slightly. "Oh, uh...," he stammered as his right hand landed on the butt of his gun.

Renzulli chuckled at the nervous, new father. "Let me have your belt and radio," he ordered. "I'll take it to your CO at the 1-5," he offered.

"Okay. Okay, thanks, Sarge," Jamie replied as he quickly removed his duty belt and shoulder radio.

Once he took possession of the items, Renzulli offered Jamie a warm smile and his hand. "Congratulations, Jamie. Let us know how everything goes, huh?"

Jamie smiled brightly once again, not quite believing this day had come so soon. "Yeah, thanks, Sarge," he said and shook his old CO's hand before heading off to find Eddie.

* * *

Jamie walked cautiously into room 4032 and was relieved when he caught sight of his wife in the hospital bed, clad in a gown and connected to an IV and baby monitor. A nurse was positioned next to her typing away at a computer.

"Jamie! Thank, God," she cried when she saw him coming through the door.

Jamie approached her quickly and perched on the edge of the bed as he leaned in for a hug. "Hey, you okay? What's happenening?" he asked quickly.

"The baby's coming early," she replied frantically.

Dr. Denton walked into the room before Eddie had a chance to continue. "Hey, Jamie. Like I told Eddie already, I didn't think I'd be seeing you today," she said gently.

"Neither did we," Jamie answered.

Eddie smiled back, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I don't know what Eddie has told you already, but her water did in fact break. She's 3 centimeters dialated and we're going to get her started on some medication to push things along. We don't want things to go too slowly considering her water has already broken and there is a risk of infection, " Dr. Denton said.

Jamie's eyes widened at that bit of information and he glanced at Eddie quickly. He knew there was something more going on last night than the usual pregnancy symptoms, but his wife was nothing if not stubborn.

Dr. Denton looked to Eddie and continued. "With the meds, your contractions are going to get increasingly stronger, so don't be shy to ask for an epidural when you think you need it, okay?"

The doctor obviously didn't know her well enough. "Don't worry, if there's one thing I am not, it's shy," Eddie replied.

Dr. Denton smiled back at her patient. "Everything's looking good, so we'll just see how you progress and go from there," she advised.

"Okay. Thanks, Dr. Denton," Eddie replied. She was trying to stay calm, but she was terrified on the inside and she was sure the blood pressure cuff she was hooked up to would prove that. The fact that she was delivering already was freaking her out.

"No problem, guys. I'll be back later to check in on you, but the nurses will call me if anything pops up before then."

"Thanks," Jamie responded. His stomach was tied up in knots. This was the last thing he expected today.

"You're welcome," Dr. Denton replied just before stepping out.

Dr. Denton left, leaving them to stare at each other for a moment. Their baby's rapid heartbeat was the only sound in the room. "You okay?" Jamie remained next to her on the bed as he brushed her hair back with his fingertips.

Eddie shook her head. She looked down to hide her face, which was crumbling.

Jamie pulled her back into his arms. "Hey, you heard Dr. Denton - the baby's good, it's just happening sooner than we expected," he soothed.

Eddie got herself under control and pulled away from her husband, just enough to look at his face. "I know. Just can't believe this is happening today, you know? Everything's been perfect so far. We're not ready, Jamie. We're supposed to have three more weeks," she cried. "And these stupid contractions hurt."

"I know. I guess someone is just ready to come out and before they're due," he said as he rubbed her back gently.

Eddie sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Sounds like Reagan trait," she said as they broke further apart.

"More like Uncle Danny...God help us if our child comes out like him," Jamie quipped. He turned serious and said, "I should probably call everyone."

"I already called my mom," she added. "She's on her way over, but I told her not to rush." Eddie whimpered. "Pray labor won't last an eternity, Reagan, or we may never have any more kids."

Jamie smiled as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He hit a speed dial button and after a few rings, he heard his father's deep voice answer.

"Hey, Son. How's it going?" Frank asked.

Jamie didn't know where to begin. "Not sure how to answer that question right now," he said as he stepped away from Eddie while the nurse came over to adjust the monitor.

"Everything okay?" Frank could hear the concern in his voice.

"Yeah. I hope so. I mean, yes, I think so," Jamie blurted out and shook his head so he could think straight. He didn't want to alarm his father, but that was hard to do when he was freaking out himself.

"What's going on, Jamie?" Frank asked.

"I'm at St. Vic's with Eddie. She's in labor," Jamie said, but couldn't stop himself from sounding a little frazzled.

There was a pause as Frank digested those words. "All right, but they're okay?" he asked.

He could tell his father was handling the news like he would any problem that came across his desk - get all the facts first and then set a course of action.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what the doctor said. But the baby's coming sooner than expected," Jamie answered and rubbed at his forehead looking every bit like the other nervous, new fathers that came through that room.

"Okay, well tell me what room she's in and I'll come down."

"Dad, you don't have to do that. Everything's fine. And it could be a while." Jamie didn't want him to worry.

"Don't be silly, Son. And what better reason to get out of a budget meeting, right?" Frank kidded. "Besides, this is your first. No shame in being nervous. I've been there," he added.

Jamie sighed. "Yeah. Thanks, Dad. We're in room 4032. Do you think you could call Grandpa? I still have to call Danny and Erin."

"Of course. I'll be there in a little while," Frank advised him.

Jamie heard the call disconnect and leaned back against the wall. One down, two to go, he thought as he began to unbutton his uniform shirt and remove his vest - might as well strip down to his t-shirt and get comfortable since it would be long day.

He reached Erin and she too insisted on coming down, admitting that she'd be useless at the office knowing her newest niece or nephew was on the way.

He got a hold of Danny, who, surprisingly, also seemed eager to come down to the hospital, but only because his seargent had ordered him to finish up some overdue reports. He'd asked Jamie to pass along his thanks to Eddie for getting him out of the squad room. Danny also told him that Linda was on shift today and would pass along the news. In return, Jamie tasked him with stopping by their apartment to pick up the bags Eddie already had packed and ready to go for "D-Day," as she liked to refer to it.

Once the nurse left, Jamie sat back down on the edge of Eddie's bed. "You all settled?" he asked and placed his hand over hers where it lay on her belly. The sound on the fetal heart monitor had been turned down and showed the baby's steady heartbeat.

"Easy to get settled when you show up with nothing but your handbag," she replied.

"My dad's gonna stop by. Erin too. Linda's working in the ER so she'll come up when she's on break. Danny's coming too, but he's gonna stop by our place and get our bags first," Jamie filled her in.

"They don't need to come. There's nothing to do here," she countered.

"Try keeping them away. Not worth the battle, babe," he told her.

Eddie turned toward him. "I know," she said. As soon as the words left her mouth, she closed her eyes as a contraction hit. Eddie leaned forward, dropping her forehead onto Jamie's shoulder as she breathed through it.

Jamie rubbed her back until the contraction passed. Once he felt Eddie relax, he said, "Who knew we'd be doing this today, huh?" A half smile popped onto his face at the thought that they'd finally be meeting their baby.

Eddie lifted her head at his question. "I still say it's a Reagan thing," she replied with a smirk.

* * *

The family had made it in for a visit. They all took turns trying to distract the pair and helping Eddie through contractions before they worsened and she'd demanded an epidural. The men, except for Jamie, of course, had cleared out as soon as Eddie's discomfort became easily apparent to them. The ladies followed once the anesthesiologist had shown up, which is why Eddie was now laying on her side with her eyes closed and breathing evenly as the medication dulled her pain.

Jamie was stationed next to Eddie, holding one of her hands in his and soothingly running his fingers through her hair with the other. "You're doing great, honey. You really held out there," he praised her.

"I thought someone was stabbing me in the gut for a while there," Eddie revealed.

"How're you feeling now?" Jamie inquired.

"Weird. Can't feel my legs," she replied.

"And the contractions?" he asked.

"Still there, just a lot of pressure," Eddie admitted and then opened her eyes as one corner of her mouth curved upwards. "Linda was right. Yay for epidurals," she quipped.

"Of course I was right, whatever it was," Linda said as she stepped back into the room with Nicky and Erin.

Nicky made her way to the other end of the room to join Antonija on a small couch where she had been updating family on Eddie's progression.

"How are you doing, Eddie?" Erin asked as they came around the bed to get in Eddie's line of sight.

"Ready to get this kid out once and for all," she answered, smiling goofily at her sisters-in-law.

"I'm sure," Linda agreed.

"You're almost there. You'll be pushing in no time," Jamie assured her.

"And it will be all over in a lot less time than it took for me to deliver you, Edit," Antonija advised. "Twenty-four hours it took for her to make an appearance."

"You always said I had to do everything at my own pace," Eddie shot back.

"I feel your pain, Antonija. Jack took twenty-two hours. I was worried Sean would be the same but, luckily, he only took six hours to pop out," Linda advised as she took in the expression on Eddie's face. "Look at her, she's got the post epidural buzz going," Linda joked.

"No shame in asking for drugs, right Linda?" Eddie drawled.

"That's right, sweetie," Linda confirmed. "Just remember what I told you, as soon as the baby is out, it will be all over and you'll be back to feeling like yourself again," she said.

"A little sleep deprived, but you'll be yourself again," Erin commented.

"I'll take sleep deprivation over feeling like my guts are ripping apart any day," Eddie muttered.

"I swear, I'm never having kids," Nicky declared from her seat on the couch.

Eddie raised her hand an pointed at herself. "That's what I said once, but look at me now," she lamented.

Jamie couldn't help but smirk at the exchange. He was glad they were all here to provide some distraction.


	23. Chapter 23 - D-Day

_A/N: Epilogue up tomorrow._

D-Day

Jamie snapped a picture and brought his phone back down to take in the sight before him. He never thought he could possibly love another human being as much as he loved his wife, but he did, the very second he laid eyes on his newborn daughter.

Eddie lay back against the bed, clutching their child to her chest, sniffling at the sound of baby's cries and unable to look away from her beautiful, tiny face and dark blue eyes that blinked sluggishly at her. Jamie had to wipe away the tears that had pooled in his eyes, completely mesmerized by the sight of the two of them together as a weepy Antonija looked on from the side, wanting to give the three of them this time together. Everyone else in the room faded away and in that moment, it was just the three of them there together. Nothing was said for a long time, both new parents awestruck by the child they'd waited so long to meet.

Jamie leaned in closer and reached out with one hand, cupping the baby's head while he ran his thumb up and down the her soft, little cheek as if to confirm she was real. "I can't believe she's here," he said in a daze.

Eddie took a few calming breaths and ran a hand across her eyes to clear her vision. She was as captivated as her husband by the pink, squirming baby laying on her chest who seemed to magically calm as her father caressed her cheek. All of the pain and worry they'd gone through before was forgotten.

"This doesn't feel real," Eddie whispered as she looked up at her husband with a watery smile.

Jamie looked back down at her with the same look his face. "You were amazing, babe. I'm so proud of you," he said as he leaned down and placed his forehead against hers. He felt like he was about to burst from happiness and kissed her tenderly.

The kiss was broken when the baby began wailing again, causing both new parents to chuckle and redirect their attention back to their daughter.

"She's a few minutes old and already hates to see her parents kissing," Eddie joked as she placed a kiss of her own on the baby's forehead. "It's okay, baby," she soothed the newborn.

Jamie stood to full height and brought his phone back up to text out a photo. When he was done, he hooked the guest chair with one foot and brought it towards him so he could take a seat and admire both his girls at eye level. Jamie brought an elbow up onto the bed and laid his chin in the palm of his hand as he placed the other on the baby's back, watching as Eddie quieted the baby with soft, soothing coos.

Despite all of her own worries, he knew from the very beginning that she was going to be a great mother.

* * *

 _Back in the waiting room..._

The Reagans were spread out across half of the waiting room, chatting to pass the time. They'd already made several runs to the cafeteria for coffee and snacks and were contemplating another.

"I still can't believe Jamie's about to be a dad," Linda said in astonishment.

A soft smile spread across Erin's face as she swirled the last of her coffee in her cup. "I keep thinking of the little boy who'd come downstairs on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. Now he's gonna have a kid of his own," she shared. "It's crazy."

Henry was positioned so that he had a view of the doors to the labor and delivery ward. He'd already seen several new dads come out through those doors to update awaiting family on the births of their babies. He was hoping to catch sight of Jamie at some point. "Another reminder that we're all getting old," he groused.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" Linda snapped back in jest.

Henry laughed in response.

Nicky considered the situation for a moment from where she sat next to her mother. "It's gonna be strange to be eighteen years older than my cousin. I'll be long out of college when they're starting kindergarten."

"Jack will be out of high school," Linda added. "Where does the time go?" she shook her head.

"I don't know," Erin replied. "But right now, I can't wait to find out what it is."

"Yeah, so we can stop calling it 'it'. I wouldn't have waited," Danny complained as he got up to throw his empty coffee cup into the garbage can.

Erin eyed her brother. "Of course not. You'd be the last person to let anything be a surprise," she declared.

"It really is kind of exciting, to finally find out," Linda said.

"I hope it's a girl, make things even." Nicky smirked at her cousins, both of whom were distracted by their hand-held video games.

Erin turned to her sister-in-law. "I hope it's a girl so we can go shopping," she said in a mock whisper.

Linda's eyes sparkled at the prospect. "Ooh, yeah," she said.

"There's something for us to do tomorrow, ladies," Erin said.

"Sounds good to me," Nicky agreed.

"I think you guys would go shopping regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl," Danny stated as he paced the length of the waiting room.

"Maybe, but it's always more fun to shop for girls." Erin spoke from experience and traded smiles with Linda before chuckling. "Antonijia said it was her only chance to dress Eddie up," she said.

"I never had the pleasure, but I always looked through the girl things when I'd shop for the boys," Linda said.

"They should consider themselves lucky all you did was look," Danny added which earned him some snickers from the group.

Frank looked at his watch and said, "I, for one, would be thrilled either way, so long as mom and baby are healthy."

"That goes without saying, Francis. Poor kid was probably beside himself getting pulled off patrol to hear his wife was in labor early," Henry said.

Frank stared aimlessly at the wall. "I still remember Danny's birth. I could deal with almost any crime scene, but seeing Mary give birth the first time was a little daunting," he admitted.

"Did it get easier with each one of us, Dad?" Erin asked.

Frank smiled as he thought about the question. "Sure. By the time Jamie came along, I probably could have delivered him myself," he replied and looked over at Danny. "You know that when you were born, it still wasn't common for men to attend their child's birth in a lot of hospitals."

Henry turned to his son. "I wasn't there when you were born. I wasn't allowed." He thought of how much things had changed since his day.

"I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I'll never forget the first time I heard Jack cry," Danny said and looked fondly at his oldest.

"Yeah. It's pretty amazing," Linda responded and smiled at her husband.

All of a sudden, every adult's cell phone announced the arrival of a message. Nicky was by far the quickest at handling her phone, so she was the first one to let out a shriek of happiness at the message she'd received.

Erin was still rummaging inside her purse for her phone when she looked at Nicky in concern. "What is it?"

Frank was about to pull on his glasses to read his message when Nicky announced, "It's Eddie and the baby!"

Erin gave up searching for her own phone and grabbed Nicky's out her hand. On the screen was indeed a close up of Eddie and the baby - the baby was covered in the standard pink and blue striped hospital baby blanket and cap, nestled atop Eddie's chest, eyes open and peering up at its mother who looked back at the baby with an indescribable amount of emotion.

Erin's eyes watered and her mouth opened but nothing came out.

"Oh my goodness, so beautiful," Linda sniffled, tears already pooled in her eyes.

Frank stared at his phone, his lips pressed into a big smile as he tried swallowing the lump in his throat.

Henry was also choked up. He cleared his throat and patted his son on the back. "Congratulations, Grandpa."

Frank reached over to do the same. "You too, Pop," his voice thick with emotion.

Jack put his game down and went to stand next to his father to see what everyone was looking at. As he peered at the photo, he casually asked, "So what is it?"

Danny was smiling down at his own phone. "Don't know. Baby's born and we're still calling it 'it'. They'll probably withhold the sex until 'its' first birthday," he joked. He was so happy for his little brother.

They laughed, each one unable to pull their eyes away from the newest member of the family.

* * *

Jamie walked out through the doors from labor and delivery and down the long hospital corridor that would take him to the waiting room full of Reagans. He looked toward the end of the hallway and broke out into a big smile when he saw his grandfather sitting in a chair near the entrance.

Henry recognized his grandson coming down the hallway, smiling wide as their eyes met.

Henry turned to the others and announced, "It's Jamie! He's coming down the hall!"

All eight members of the Reagan family got up at once, spilling out of the waiting room and into the hallway. They looked on expectantly as Jamie approached. When he was finally within earshot of them, he finally gave them the news. "It's a girl!"

Erin, Linda and Nicky cheered, with Henry and Danny exchanging a high five at the news.

The group exchanged hugs and kisses with the new father. Jamie's emotions overcame him again and he wiped his eyes as he pulled out of the last hug.

Frank beamed at his son, affectionately grasping the back of his neck. "Congratulations, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Is she okay? And Eddie, how is she?" Henry asked.

"They're both okay, thank God. Doc said the baby looks good. She's in the nursery getting checked out and cleaned up. The doc's finishing up with Eddie now." Jamie pointed back in the direction he came from. "You guys can come take a peak."

A chorus of 'yes' and 'let's go' erupted and the group followed Jamie through the hallway and to the nursery. The pack of Reagans moved swiftly, eager for their first look at the new baby. Frank walked next to Jamie with an arm thrown across his shoulders.

"Well, what's her name?" Erin asked.

"Amelia Grace," Jamie announced proudly.

"Ahh, Amelia," Linda cooed.

"That's a beautiful name, Jamie," Frank said.

When they arrived outside of the nursery, one of the nurses from the delivery room caught sight of Jamie and pointed over to a warming table in the corner just in front of the window, and led them over to his daughter.

"There she is," Jamie announced, his eyes fixated on the baby as soon as he neared. Amelia lay calmy on the small bed, her arms and legs fluttering around as she stared aimlessly across the nursery.

Henry was mesmerized by his newest great grand baby. "She's a beauty," he declared.

Erin couldn't take her eyes off her new niece. "She looks like you when you were a baby, Jamie," she said.

"She really does," Frank confirmed as he beamed at his newest granddaughter. He was even having flashbacks to holding a squirming, newborn Jamie in his arms.

"She's beautiful," Linda said.

"She's really tiny," Nicky added as she took a variety of pictures of the baby through the window.

"Six pounds, five ounces," Jamie advised with his eyes never leaving his daughter.

Danny whistled. "We make roasts bigger than that for Sunday dinner," he joked.

The group laughed and continued to admire Amelia.

"What'd I tell ya," Linda paused to address Erin, "you two end up with the normal size babies," Linda.

"Must be a girl thing. Maybe with the next one, they'll end up with a giant baby boy like you," Erin said.

That got Jamie spinning to face his sister. "Woah, woah, woah, hold up. Who's thinking about the next one already? We haven't even gotten this one home yet," he advised the family.

Danny threw an arm over his brother's shoulders as he stared at his little niece. "And that's when the real fun starts, kid, so get ready," he warned.


	24. Chapter 24 - The New Normal

Epilogue - The New Normal

Eddie padded out of the bedroom and over to the living room where a reairing of Sports Center illuminated the darkened apartment. When she made it to the sofa, she smiled fondly as she found a sleeping Jamie, cradling a sleeping Amelia, swaddled snuggly in the crook of his left arm as a small, empty bottle began to slip out of his right hand.

They'd been home almost a week and both were exhausted, still trying to get accustomed to the baby's schedule. But despite that and all of the new things they were learning about caring for a newborn, they were certain of one thing - they couldn't imagine life without her.

Jamie had taken the week off to be home with Eddie and the baby. He'd been proactive with diaper duty and feedings, especially the late night ones so that Eddie could get some rest before he was back at work at not as readily available to cover the night shifts at home.

Eddie had taken to caring for Amelia flawlessly, Erin's words holding true. It really came instinctively to her, although she still appreciated the words of advice from the other moms in her life.

Eddie approached father and daughter, grabbing the bottle with one hand and placed it on the side table as she ran the other through Jamie's spikey hair. "Hey," she whispered, earning herself a grunt as Jamie's eyes squinted open at the glowing television.

"Time for bed before we gotta get up and do this all over again in a couple hours," she said softly.

Jamie smiled and looked down at the sleeping child in his arm. "I think I fell asleep before she did," Jamie said in a raspy voice.

"I'm sure you did," Eddie replied as she scooped the baby up out of his arms with ease and brought her up against her shoulder, patting her back gently as Amelia let out her own little grunts before settling back down. Eddie carried the baby back into the bedroom and laid her down in her crib, patting her gently until she was sure she was fast asleep. She stood and stared at her daughter until a pair of arms snaked around her decidedly smaller waist.

"This has become your new hobby," Jamie whispered over his wife's shoulder, with some amusement in his voice.

Eddie leaned back and smirked into the darkened room. "Look who's talking," she shot back.

Jamie chuckled quietly. "Guilty. She's like her mom - can't get enough of her," he replied. "Come on, time for sleep," he instructed and led her over to the bed.

Jamie settled in behind Eddie and spooned her to him. They laid there in the dark for a few moments until Eddie broke the silence.

"I don't think I've ever been this happy," she sighed.

"Me too," he agreed and kissed the back of Eddie's neck before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Frank chuckled as he sat at the kitchen island slicing the roast for Sunday dinner.

"What's so funny, grandpa?" Nicky asked as she threw some hot rolls into a basket.

"I was just thinking about what your uncle said." Frank pointed at the roast. "This baby's almost bigger than your cousin Amelia."

Erin smiled. "I can't wait to see her. Can't wait to hear how the rest of their first week at home has been."

"Exhausting, I'm sure. I stopped by on Thursday and they both looked like tired new parents," Linda picked up a bowl of carrots and walked into the dining room.

Erin followed her out with some dishes of her own. "I saw the same look on Wednesday. I am not missing those days."

"I'm happy to babysit, but not until she's sleeping through the night," Nicky joked as she moved to the middle of the table to deposit the bread basket.

Frank carried the sliced roast to his seat. "Jamie said she's not too bad."

Linda looked around the table to see what they were missing. "He was probably expecting worse after all of Danny's stories."

"I can't wait to hold her again. It's been so long since we've had a little baby in the family," Erin gushed.

Henry shook his head. He looked at his granddaughters as he moved around the table pouring the wine. "I have a feeling she's going to be spoiled with you two around."

"Look who's talking! You turn into a giant, squishy marshmallow just at the mention of her name, Pops," Nicky chuckled.

"She's right, Pop," Frank added.

"Pot, kettle, Francis," Henry shot back.

Frank smiled. "Like Erin said, it's been a long time."

Danny walked into the dining room with the boys in tow. "Well, I was right. The real fun has started - all those poopy diapers and late night feedings. I still remember those."

Linda placed a hand on her hip and faced her husband. "What do you mean _you_ still remember those? You used to play dead four times out of five when Sean would cry at night."

"Why does that not surprise me," Erin commented.

"Hey, I'd get up. I was just slow sometimes….hard to wake up out of a dead sleep," Danny defended.

"I'm sure," Linda smirked.

"Hey, everybody." A smiling Jamie walked into the dining room with a baby carrier in hand and Eddie following close behind.

"Hey, Amelia's here!"

Jamie placed the carrier on one of the dining room chairs at the corner of the table and stepped back as the family huddled around the sleeping infant nestled under a soft pink blanket and knit hat courtesy of her grandmother.

Jamie threw his arm around his wife's shoulders as he observed his family. "So it's true what they say, we become invisible now," said in a mock whisper.

Frank approached the new parents first, greeting them both with hugs. "Never invisible."

"No, but we've been waiting all day to see Amelia," Linda said without so much as looking in their direction, all eyes still focused on the baby.

Jamie pointed at his wife. "Sorry. Took forever to leave the apartment. Eddie kept forgetting stuff."

Eddie slapped his stomach playfully. "Hey, you weren't much help," she scoffed. "And who knew babies have to travel with so much stuff?"

"Wait a few months," Erin warned. "The older they get, the more you gotta lug around to entertain them," she said as she lifted the blanket to get a peak at Amelia's little outfit.

"So, how was your first week at home with her?" Linda asked.

"Exhausting, but good." Eddie glanced at her sleeping daughter with a soft smile on her face.

"Yeah. We're learning real fast to get whatever we need to do done while she's sleeping….so let's eat!" Jamie rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the home cooked meal.

That earned Jamie a few chuckles, but the adults knew there was truth to that statement and sat down to dinner.

"We'll pass her around like a hot potato after dinner," Danny said.

"Who's saying grace?" Henry asked.

"I think we should all say it together. Been a few weeks since we've all been here together, so we should all give thanks." Frank smiled at the new little family down at the other end of the table and reached out to hold Linda and Erin's hands, the rest of the family following his example.

It was good to have the whole family together.

 _Thank you for all of the reviews!_


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